Letters: Recycling, museums and Russia

Research has discovered that water in numerous bottles from many companies is full of microscopic bits of plastic, a reader says. PHOTO/GETTY

Recycling issues

The big news here in Welcome Bay is the breakdown of the enviro truck general rubbish collection vehicle which broke down outside our house; resulting in a two-hour repair job to the machine.

I blame the extra weight of glass bottles which have stressed the machine's system, as the internal combustion engine was fine.

Fortunately, the recycling truck was unaffected - thank goodness - as the six plastic meat trays, nine plastic bottles and the cardboard box for the new cat's litter bin were quickly removed.

Clearly, the plastic bottle is the only way to go if we want a simple recyclable future (even though most seem to have the number 5 on them and are not for reuse).

Unfortunately, new research in the US has discovered that water, yes plain water, in numerous bottles from many companies is full of microscopic bits of plastic, some of which are sold here.

Consumers here have an interesting choice. Buy the plastic or heaven forbid, drink water out of the tap where the council seem to have done a good job -gasp.

Maurice Mckeown, Welcome Bay

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Museums costly

In reply to Maureen Guy (Letters, April 4) saying get on and build the museum. She states she had just been to New Plymouth's museum and was very impressed and Tauranga should get on and build the museum. Interesting.

The New Plymouth museum costs ratepayers $4.2 million to run last year, $800,000 over budget. I certainly don't believe we should be paying anywhere near that amount and I know this council could not run it to budget so we would be looking at costs larger than New Plymouth. Most of us still don't want a museum, and if we must have one, then It has to be user pays.

Gary Horan, Bayfair

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Russia really to blame?

Regarding columnist Bryan Guild's article (Opinion, March 20), it should be apparent to anyone, including Guild, that the West has been pushing an anti Putin campaign for the last several years, blaming those dastardly Russians and Putin in particular, for just about every ill deed and tragic event on the planet.

Within hours of ex Russian double agent, Skripal and his visiting daughter being found close to death, supposedly after being hit by a nerve agent, Prime Minister May was saying that Russia was 'overwhelmingly likely' behind it.

Between her and mouthpiece Boris Johnson it very soon became 'Russia is behind it ' and of course the bulk of the sheeple believe this like it's the gospel.

Ask yourself 'What had Russia to gain?'. In the murky world of the secret services and political agendas, it could just have easily been one of the Wests 'friendly' states that committed the atrocity on Britain's behalf with the obvious intention of blaming the Russians.

Whatever, we will never really discover the truth by reading or listening to the heavily censored, politically driven, mainstream media whose foreign news comes mostly from a handful of tightly controlled news sources in the US and England.

Ian Lucas, Welcome Bay