SIR – The fortnightly Council recycling bin collection for our entire street was missed on Tuesday, February 18 – our normal collection day.

I rang the Council helpline to report this, and a disembodied electronic voice asked me to state my postcode, then street address, then the type of collection missed, and finally my contact telephone number.

Each answer was laboriously repeated back to me for verbal confirmation, then I was put on hold and finally informed that my next collection should go ahead on Tuesday, March 4 – which, as I already knew, is our next scheduled collection date. Our bin is full so there will be no recycling in our house for the next two weeks.

What is the point of all this? It would be much simpler, quicker (and honest) to record a message saying that once missed no collection will be made until the next scheduled date.

It is true that work is being carried out on the gas mains in Haslam Grove, but vehicle access remains unrestricted and our normal weekly rubbish bin collection went ahead today as usual.

Ted Clarke, Haslam Grove, Shipley