COMING from a family whose family motto is 'Sans change' I am surprised at the resistance to change of some local residents, even when the change is clearly for the better.

I refer to the various letters expressing concern over the new recycling and waste collection service. A critical factor which Cllr Sampson referred to in his response to these concerns in last week's edition is the need to address the ongoing levels of landfill. This is a particular problem in the south west and arguably we can still be classed 'a throw-away society'.

The new arrangements go a long way to addressing this problem. Our previous concept of waste collection simply being dustbins full of rubbish needs to be challenged.

This is now becoming only the residual waste with hopefully the majority of discarded items being placed in the appropriate containers for recycling and composting — which will continue to be collected on a weekly basis! A message that perhaps Mr Pickles and his colleagues at Westminster need to receive and understand.

The new arrangements give us all the additional opportunity to help achieve the obvious environmental benefits of these changes.

Robin Musgrave

West Devon Borough Council ward member for Bere Peninsula

LINDA Bowman (Letters, September 30) is right to point out that there are certain weeds that should not be cut and placed in the garden waste sacks, top of the list being the invasive plant Knotweed.

However, she is mistaken that English Ivy (Hedra helix) is an invasive vine and is in fact native to Eurasia. It does not kill trees in its native environment and if ivy has become rampant it may indicate that the tree itself is unhealthy.

In countries where it is not native (ie, the US) ivy is a problem and can kill trees. In its native environment ivy is important ecologically, flowering late in the year, offering one of the last sources of food before winter.

The fruit develops during the winter and is ripe in early spring when there is a shortage of food for birds and mammals. Due to its evergreen nature ivy also provides good winter cover.

While on the subject of invasive plants, whose responsibility is it to deal with the Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam growing in the West Okement beside the new Co-op supermarket in Okehampton?

Steve Granger

Okehampton