Bradford is struggling to get rid of all the rubbish produced by its growing population. Landfill is costly and the sites available for it are increasingly hard to find. As our special spread on recycling shows, the Council is working hard at dealing constructively with more of the waste that we put in our various bins and it has responded to some householders' reluctance to have their gardens filled with them by introducing inserts which enable several types of waste to be separated in the same wheelie bin.

By and large Bradford people are rising to the challenge (although some still need some persuading). They are sorting their rubbish and putting it in the correct bins for collection, or they are taking it to recycling sites on supermarket car parks or elsewhere.

But however it is disposed of, the fact remains that far too much rubbish is produced by modern society, and much of it is due to excessive packaging of items we buy from supermarkets and shops. There are sensible practical measures that individuals can take, such as declining the offer of a plastic bag to wrap an item in, or using proper shopping bags instead of new carriers.

However, the real answer lies with the retailers and their suppliers. They need to be made to understand that excessive packaging is no longer acceptable. And the best way to get them to realise that is through their customers telling them so and declining to buy items which are wrapped when they could be sold loose or are double - or triple - wrapped when a single layer would do.