Letters: If you want us to recycle, empty our bins more often

Councillor Lesley Hinds constantly justifies the council’s actions on the basis that they are to encourage people to re-cycle more.

I have a wee tip for Cllr Hinds. I live in Falcon Gardens and my local communal recycling bins are filled to overflowing within two to three days. They are then left in this state for another five to six days before being emptied.

This leaves my home and no doubt all my neighbours’ houses overflowing with paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and food packaging.

It is no surprise that people resort to dumping it in the bin for landfill.

No doubt Cllr Hinds would point out that there are many recycling depots around the city which residents can take their rubbish to. However, in order to do this we must drive there. That counters the benefits to the environment.

So please, if you want us to recycle more it is simple – empty the bins more often to enable us to do so.

O Martin, Falcon Gardens, Edinburgh

Will bin men rake through rubbish?

SO, the council is going to fine us £50 if we put a black bag of rubbish beside our bin – how are the bin men going to identify if was my rubbish or that of a sly rubbish-tipper? Are they going to examine the rubbish for an address?

J Watson, Edinburgh

Let’s say ‘I do’ to secular weddings

Neil Barber of Edinburgh Secular Society welcomes the introduction of legislation that allows gay marriages in England and Wales on roughly similar lines to the changes in Scotland (Letters, February 5).

But he neglects to mention that these new laws will allow same sex marriage by the civil registrar as well as by some religious bodies.

Why are some religious denominations given exemptions? If they register marriage for the state why should they pick and choose which forms of marriage they will register and celebrate?

Would not a thoroughly secular system like that in France and Turkey be superior? All marriages would then have to be registered by the state (two- thirds choose the option of civil marriage already) and then couples, religious denominations and any one else could then celebrate new matches as they wished without state interference

Norman Bonney, Palmerston Place, Edinburgh

Toilets are not at our convenience

The Royal Mile is the centre for visitors to Edinburgh yet there are no public conveniences there east of the Tron.

The most modern toilets at the corner of Horse Wynd and the foot of the Royal Mile were demolished to build the Scottish Parliament.

The council assured citizens that they would be replaced and as always this promise was not kept.

The other central toilets behind the St James Centre were scrapped to make way for an electric sub-station to power the trams.

D R Watt, Bellevue Place, Edinburgh

Independence is best for Scotland

Chas Dennis (letters, February 4) has a strange view of referendums which are much more democratic than the feudal House of Lords that still takes decisions for Scotland.

Independence means we can make full use of our huge resources, our own tax base and our fantastic international reputation to make Scotland a wealthier and fairer nation.

We can choose a different path from the Westminster government – instead of “more of the same”, we can take forward policies designed for the needs of the Scottish economy.

The major decisions about Scottish society will be in the hands of the people who care most about Scotland’s future –The people of Scotland will be masters of our destiny, rather than politicians at Westminster.

This is why the grass roots Labour for Independence organisation is gathering strength.

After independence we can vote for the party that matches our values and who knows the Labour leadership in Scotland might even get its act together and support self-determination rather than being dependent on London for most of its policies and finances.

Fraser Grant, Warrender Park Road, Edinburgh