Sir – Oxfordshire County Council used to pay a local charity, Orinoco, about £500 per month for Orinoco to collect household paint that had been left at the Household Waste Recycling Centre at Redbridge, check it, sort it and make it available to people very, very cheaply. This reduced the amount of paint sent to landfill and offered cheap paint to people who needed it, such as those on low incomes, community groups, and anyone who wanted to buy perfectly good paint for £1 a tin instead of £10.

Now that new regulations state that liquids — including paint — be sent to landfill, the council refuses to accept unwanted paint at the tip and directs people straight to Orinoco.

Orinoco volunteers still check it, sort it and make it available to people very, very cheaply — but they now do so for free.

Well done, the council! They get the same service — even better, since they don’t have to deal with any paint themselves — for nothing. Surely, this is the way ahead. We pay our taxes, the council gives us nothing in return, and civil society organisations provide the services for free.

Jon Stacey, Oxford