Northampton Borough Council collects its waste in a different way to Wellingborough and some other councils across the UK.

In Northampton we ask our residents to separate their waste in their homes, which enables us to produce a cleaner recycled product.

As the authority owns and manages its own materials recycling facility, we have total control of the recycling that is collected and where it is reprocessed.

The majority of the recyclate is sold directly to the reprocessors and not managed through a third party.

Our approach to recycling means that everything we recycle is reused and does not end up as landfill and that all waste is disposed of in an ethical way.

Northampton is now accepted as being one of the best performing urban authorities when it comes to our recycling performance and this is down to our residents who work with us to reduce, re-use and recycle waste.
Councillor Trini Crake,
Cabinet member
for environment,
Northampton Borough Council.

Crystal expert will be missed
I'm writing regarding the recent passing of Peter Andrews.

During his 40 years as manager of Church's China, Peter became admired and respected by all who knew him.

After serving overseas during the war, Peter joined Church's as a trainee manager and before long developed a lifelong love for the product.

His knowledge and expertise grew rapidly and he spent many a winter evening giving talks to local community groups on the history and manufacture of fine crystal.

Through his courtesy, knowledge, kindness and good humour, Peter developed a strong following of loyal "personal" customers, many of whom still ask after him 18 years after his retirement.

As a manager who led by example, he was loved and admired by all the Church's staff who were fortunate enough to work under his wing.

Peter was instrumental in expanding the reputation of the business in the post-war years.

He was also a wonderful friend to the Church family and to staff and customers alike.

He will be greatly missed.
Stephen Church,
Church's China,
St Giles Street,
Northampton.

No room for us at the abbey
I felt I must write and give an alternative view of a letter in Monday's Chronicle & Echo (Heritage heroes).

When my wife and I read about this weekend in your paper, she said she would love to go and have a look around Delapre Abbey.

As she usually works weekends, she requested a day off so we could have a look around, as she was born in Far Cotton and lived locally for over 17 years and used to play in the abbey park area as a child, having never seen anything more than a look in through the windows.

This was the chance she had been waiting for, so imagine our surprise on Sunday when at the entrance of the house we were informed that unless we had booked a tour we would be unable to see inside the house.

The lady said that it was fully booked and to fill out a form with our contact details and the council would inform us, if/when the abbey would be open again.

My wife was a little upset but she was not the only one as several other people turned up expecting to have a look around the house and were told the same thing.

Had this been made clearer in the advertisement, I and possibly the other visitors would have booked in advance and not have been so disappointed.

So come on Northampton council, please make sure these details are printed next time, then like Hayley Mobbs and her family, we would have enjoyed the heritage open weekend as well.
Mr and Mrs P J Andrew,
Godwin Walk, Ryehill, Duston, Northampton.

Why Thorplands is not so rosy
I had to pinch myself after reading Sally Keeble's letter (Viewpoint, September 23) about Thorplands to be reminded of the actual reality of life under Labour and not the rosy picture of Utopia painted by Mrs Keeble.

What the Thorplands area desperately needs is investment in improving the housing and the local environment.

Yet this Labour Government not only stops the borough council investing back the proceeds of council house sales into improvements, it also takes away half the £19 million collected in council rents as well, thus starving the local council of desperately-needed funds.

Even worse, Sally Keeble's Government only gave Northampton Borough Council a 1.4 per cent increase in funding this year, a figure well below inflation and certainly not helping the council maintain services in the face of rising fuels costs.

Mrs Keeble wasn't even present in the debate to put Northampton's case for a better deal.

Then of course there is the 10p tax rate fiasco where it seems that Mrs Keeble and Labour MPs failed to notice Gordon Brown's plans would actually hit the poorest who needed help.

To make amends the result is now a massive hole in public finances and under Labour an ever widening gap between the poorest 10 per cent in the country and the richest 10 per cent.

While it is acknowledged that Government spending has doubled in the last 10 years from £300 billion to £600 billion, the problem is that not enough of this money has got through to delivering better public services.

Instead money has been spent on such things as an illegal war in Iraq, replacing Trident missiles, a national identity card scheme or simply more Government red tape and bureaucracy.

It is because this money is not getting through to those people who need it most that the Liberal Democrats have pledged to cut £20 billion of Government waste and use it to cut taxes for those on lower and middle incomes.

Tackling poverty isn't just about spending lots of Government money as Mrs Keeble would have it, it is also about making sure that Government works harder and smarter to ensure that real benefits are delivered to those who need it most.

All this Government has been good at doing is, like Mrs Keeble, spinning the truth in the hope we don't see the reality. Trouble for them is we do!
Andrew Simpson,
Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate, Northampton North Constituency.

Estate parents should wake up
I was disgusted to read about Thorplands estate where kids as young as eight years old are breaking into people's houses.

This is lack of parental control and that is the trouble on that estate.
It was also stated there was nothing to do in Northampton.

There is plenty to if parents went through the right channels.

I have 11 grandchildren and they find plenty to do even in a small town like Towcester.

Wake up parents in Thorplands.
Brian Harris,
Caermarvon Close, Towcester.

Euphoria on top of a mountain
More than 40 intrepid walkers left the Oberland Hotel, Lauterbrunnen (an extremely comfy, welcoming place thanks to proprietors, Mark and Ursula) in the early hours of September 15 for the walk to the summit of the Schilthorn Mountain at over 10,000ft.

Mick Finch has raised many thousands of pounds through organised charity walks over the years but the annual Swiss Challenge must be one of his most demanding.

As a vertigo sufferer and observer, I was amazed at the achievement of the walkers.

Many got to the top, around 6pm, through sheer determination.

The mutually supportive nature of the group was fantastic and, at the end, emotions took over: elation, tears, exhaustion and laughter often coming from the same person within the space of a minute!

From all of us at CAN, our thanks and respect to all of you that walked for our charity and the other excellent causes represented, raising significant funds in the process (see CAN's website www.can.org.uk for final figure shortly and photos).

CAN owes a great deal to Mick Finch for his tremendous support and skill in organising these events for our work with drug, alcohol and homelessness problems and if you fancy taking on the Swiss Challenge next year, contact Alison Moore on alison.moore@can.org. uk or 01604 824777 to find out more.
Andy Shaw,
Fund-raising Co-ordinator,
CAN,
Northampton.

We'll end up living like sardines
In view of the present economic climate, it is time to reduce the EU payment that Britain makes and to stop being so lavish with the benefits' payments.

If war or pestilence does not thin out the population in the future, the Queen's Sandringham may have a new town built on it and Buckingham Palace turned into flats.

In other words it will be like the situation in the film Soylent Green where there were no crops or pastures and people lived like sardines.

There is only so much land to live on, which is constant, while people increase.

Something will give, eventually.
J T Smith (Mr),
Lower Bath Street,
Northampton.