Brighton and Hove City Council is trying to undermine Magpie Recycle Co-op.

The council was very supportive of Magpie when it first started out. It has worked very hard to get this recycling project up and running.

In the last few months the council has started its own recycling scheme without any consultation. It has reportedly tripled the rent for the site which Magpie occupies.

It has taken away a contract for emptying recycling banks on the grounds that these containers were not being emptied frequently enough.

This, we have on good authority, was due to the unreliable vehicles supplied by the council.

It appears the council is determined to destroy Magpie when it should have consulted it due to its vast experience in the recycling industry.

Magpie is a self sufficient Co-operative with no cost to the council taxpayer. How much is the Brighton and Hove recycling scheme going to cost when it operates city-wide?

Magpie should have been allowed to bid for the contract.

As users of the city's recycling scheme we are not impressed as workers do not fully empty the boxes and they leave items strewn on roads and paths.

-Derek and Chris Smith, Portslade