I just thought I'd better clarify that I'm not the same Green Goddess that's commenting on Oxfordmail.net about the current rubbish bin situation in Oxford. Obviously, I do own a car and - as much as I'd love to live without it - don't think I could in rural Oxfordshire.

I do, however, think my namesake speaks a lot of sense, and that many city folk are grumbling unnecessarily about the wheelie bins.

In Cherwell, where I live, we've had three wheelie bins per household for about four years. Green is for household waste, which goes directly to the landfill, and is emptied every fortnight. Blue is for recycled waste, and brown for garden waste. These two are emptied on the alternative weeks.

The system works perfectly well, and in my house, we pride ourselves that our green bin (landfill) is usually only ever half full in a fortnight. We've never had rats, maggots or any of the other problems that Oxford residents seem to spend their time moaning about.

In fact, it angers me when I see my neighbours' bins overflowing with recyclable waste. Recycling is one of the easiest ways to do your bit for the planet, and so dumping tins, bottles, cardboard and foil in the household waste bin is pure laziness.

I'm proud of the fact that I live in an area that recycles 43 per cent of its waste. I know many homes in Oxford don't have room for wheelie bins, and this may be something that needs to be looked at, but come on city dwellers, you could at least try to do your bit. If you spent as much energy on recycling as you did on moaning about the situation, maybe you'd do better than Cherwell!