It is always interesting to receive advice about Oxford’s rubbish from Witney and Didcot (Oxford Mail, October 11).

But Labour believes Oxford residents know best what will help them to recycle more.

In the bad old days, we used to have one collection a week picking up black sacks and dumping them all in landfill.

Now we have four collections a fortnight for mixed rubbish, two sorts of recycling and garden waste.

Thanks to local businesses, the public and our council employees, we are beginning to clear up the mess in Oxford.

We have doubled recycling and from the end of October, we are simplifying the collection rounds.

Labour is including more flats in the recycling system.

And we have just started consulting Oxford people about a new streamlined recycling system for 2009, which would, for the first time, include food waste collection.

We have an enthusiastic team of voluntary recycling champions.

If your readers would like to become champions for their street or block of flats, or if they have views about the new recycling system (Oxford Mail, October 9), they should contact City Works on 01865 252900 or recycling@oxford.gov.uk Cherwell, a strongly Conservative council, has had great success with recycling and fortnightly collections.

So perhaps your correspondents from Didcot and Witney should think again.

JOHN TANNER (Councillor) Board member for a cleaner, greener Oxford Oxford City Council