Recycling pick-ups need sorting

Last Tuesday I was faced with a dilemma: shall I put out the old refuse bin or the shiny new one? I looked out to check what the rest of the road had opted for.

Some had decided on the old bin, some on the new bin, some hadn't put out either, and one hopeful soul had produced both.

I rang customer services and a polite young man informed me that our collection day is now Friday and that I could find this information on the calendar.

"Haven't had one," I replied. So he promised to send me one. Great.

On the Thursday the calendar arrived.

It tells me that our collection date is Monday. I consulted neighbours. One said she was still in the dark and the other one, who like me had spoken to customer services, had been told that Friday was our day. She has now received a calendar that opts for Friday.

Will I be the only person on the road having my bin emptied on a Monday?

The dilemma reminded me of a rather disparaging letter in the local press recently.

It listed all the measures taken by the "wise" council to inform the "simple minded" public of the arrangements. It ended with the words "what more can we do?".

I would like to tell them what they can do - sort themselves out.

And whilst in "grumpy old woman" mode, I would like to ask why on earth we were given lovely new recycling boxes for newspapers when we already have them?

How much did that cost, I (and many, many others) would like to know?

Sheila Ellis, Shrewsbury