Recently, all residents in the borough of Reigate and Banstead received a letter advising us that from October 26, collection days were changing for the Refuse, Recycling and Garden Waste by the Head of Neighbourhood Services.

The letter stated that this was a statutory notice under Section 46 of The Environmental Protection Act 1990.

I thought this section only required the council to advise residents that they must use the bins provided.

On our next collection day, attached to our bin was a coloured glossy leaflet advising us of the change of collection, but not giving which day this would happen on, but also asking US to contact the council if we had not received their letter.

Normally, when bin collections are changed – for example, Bank Holidays - we usually only receive a very small notice stuck to our bin lids advising us of the change.

I think this is an extravagant waste of public money and wrote to the council under The Freedom of Information Act requesting the cost.

Below is their reply: The 55,925 letters cost £4,251 to produce and print (including the envelopes), and £9,256.67 in postage.

The bin hangers £3,507 for 52,000, and £622 for 3,500 stickers for communal bins at flats.

The hangers have to be made of stiff card and slightly glossy to withstand the weather. They are recyclable.

The decision was taken to mail-shot residents as the crews would find it difficult, if not impossible, to get the right information to the right household.

Rounds today cross over the new 'zones' - they would have to put different stickers/hangers in each street. We have also changed all the garden waste collections from a north/south cycle over the two weeks, to splitting each of the five new zones into two garden waste collection areas.

The added complexity of having to get each garden waste customer the right information dictated the need for a letter.

We also needed to formally advise residents of the Statutory Notice for the Environmental Protection Act, on the back of the letter.

The hangers are two-fold in that they increase awareness of the day change, and confirm the collection location for the bin.

The cashable savings resulting from this project will be £270,000 a year, as well as a carbon reduction through having less vehicles on the road.

Greg Butler, Kingsley Close, Horley.