The excellent article on the mounting piles of rubbish filling landfill sites in our wonderful South Downs (The Argus, April 7) illustrates the complete failings of the waste policies of Brighton and Hove's Labour-led council.

Despite increasing levels of recycling, the waste contractor's spokesman tells us they "are still getting the same amount of rubbish at landfill" and that 85 per cent of this could be recycled.

Barbara Young, chief executive of the Environment Agency, tells us "landfill should be the last resort", as it should.

Unfortunately, the preferred alternative of our Labour and Conservative councillors to incinerate all the waste in Newhaven is little better and is certainly not the solution for the environmentally friendly city they claim to aspire to. The incinerator will not only depend upon that 85 per cent of the waste that could be recycled but also require landfill for the toxic ash left behind.

If these councillors are serious about dealing with this waste mountain they need to be more ambitious.

They must stop driving rubbish around Sussex in lorries and rethink their plans to burn it, both of which create climate changing CO2 gases which the councillors claim to want to reduce.

Instead, they must adopt greater waste reduction targets.

  • Ian Davey, Green Party candidate St Peter's and North Laine