I am an employee of Brighton and Hove City Council. Some days ago, going about my work, I was in the refuse depot at Hollingdean Road, Brighton.

This is, of course, the centre of all rubbish collection in the city, where the trucks are housed and the cleansing staff based.

Much to my surprise, I saw the offices there were having their rubbish collected by a private contractor.

It seems strange a rival operation should be allowed to enter the depot and collect rubbish when council trucks are available all around to do the job.

One probable explanation that will be given is the rubbish is "commercial" and the council deals with only the "domestic" rubbish collections.

Maybe so, but surely some exception can be made? Are the council's own employees not be trusted with the council's own rubbish?

How much does this external collection cost the council and increase council tax?

It would be interesting to hear any explanation provided by the council.

-Name and address supplied