NO matter how much waste is recycled, there will always be some residue. Until it is feasible to fire it at the sun, it must be buried or burned here on earth.

The high cost of transporting waste has encouraged local authorities to dump residue locally, whether in suitable holes or on flat ground as at Harwood Whin.

There must be lots of holes around the country that could be gradually filled and land reclaimed if transport costs from across the UK were nationally subsidised by central Government.

Use of rail or inland waterway should be encouraged. "Binliner" waste trains have run from places like Manchester and Bristol for many years. In our largely rural county, might it be feasible to establish rail-loading mini-terminals for refuse containers along the East Coast Main Line and branches? Places such as Selby, York, Darlington and Newcastle could all contribute, with waste transported to rail-served former quarries like Wensleydale or Roxby Gullet.

That would be far better than gradually surrounding York with mountains of its own rubbish.

Paul Hepworth,

Windmill Rise,

Holgate, York.

Updated: 12:01 Tuesday, January 24, 2006