Dear Sir,

I wish to defend your paper in which you argued for once a week pick-up. Once a week pick up began on February 19, 2018 and after eight weeks it was extended to June 29.

The Government is now considering making this permanent. Many people believe that twice-a-week trash collection is better because rats and other animals will get to the trash. However, I strongly disagree, I think that once a week pick-up will create a more eco-friendly Bermuda.

I understand that once a week pick-up may lead to problems; for example, larger families will obviously produce more trash because there are more people using products with packaging.

I think, over time, the community will get used to once-a- week collection and find other ways to reduce the trash they produce (by composting and recycling).

I also recognise that with once-a-week collection, rats and other dirty animals are more likely to get to the trash and open the bags.

However, I think that would happen twice a week as well as it still sits out there for two or three days. To avoid this problem, people should just keep it in their house until the day comes.

Larger families may produce more trash, but it doesn’t take long to adapt to the new system. People will find a way to reduce producing so much trash, such as compost and recycling. After a few months, it will become easier to accept the once-a- week pick-up. Surely, we can be patient for a few months as the public learns new habits.

The second reason for once a week pick-up is that it will cost less for Bermuda. For example, having once a week pick-up will help Bermuda save up to $70,000 per month by reducing overtime wages and the Government can then use that money for other things such as maintaining the recycling plant.

This will help us learn to do other things with trash other than throw it away and incinerate it. Do we really want to waste taxpayers’ money on things that can be done once a week?

Lastly, I think that once-a- week pick-up will create a more environmentally friendly Bermuda.

If we are working towards a more eco-friendly environment, then this should be encouraged. If we only have once-a-week collection, we don’t want trash piling up on the roads; surely it wouldn’t be difficult to reduce the amount of trash we buy and throw away.

Having a whole week to wait for a collection, we will need to reduce the amount of packaging. There are lots of ways to do this — planting gardens so you don’t buy packaged vegetables.

Also, making compost is a natural way to deal with your fruit and vegetable peelings, instead of piling them up in your bins. The added benefit is that the compost enriches our soil.

Once a week pick-up is far better for Bermuda if we are working towards a more eco-friendly society. We are better off creating an eco-friendly environment than spending sums of money on a useless twice-a week-collection.

Yours faithfully,

Isabel Haas,

Year 7