IT is scandalous that Poole Council are thinking of charging to collect garden waste (Echo June 14). Don’t they realise they are collecting a valuable basic raw element used for composting, and if they are not being paid for it, they should be. In fact they should be paying us for it, not the other way round.

Failing this why don’t they set up a site to compost it themselves? They have lots of waste land, it only needs piling, turning, grading and bagging, and people can never get enough of it as natural peat is on the conservation list.

While changing my garden from a basic sand pit to an award winning garden, the compost bins have been my most valuable asset.

For more than 35 years I have been collecting, cutting and shredding everything I could lay my hands on.

Knowing what I get from my garden and seeing the fast hedges around most properties, it is about time councils realise garden waste could be more like gold dust than rubbish.

KEN ADAMS, Glen Road, Poole