SIR – Well, after days of anticipation following receipt of our council tax bills, we now know that the new licence system for the Bradford waste recycling yards was not an April fool – much the pity!

I thought we were cutting down on bureaucracy and red tape. But no – our wonderful Council has decided to insist that everyone using a waste recycling site will have to have a licence and that the staff managing the sites will insist on checking each and every one as they enter to ensure they conform – even if you just live across the road!

What a pity. The sites have made a huge difference to our recycling habits and the reduction in fly-tipping. This is surely a case where the nudge will send us in the wrong direction.

Howard Green, Former Non Executive Director, West Yorkshire Waste Management, Ilkley