Deposit Return Scheme suffering from familiar failure of management

However, many of us already recycle said items, indeed most councils if not all already have collections. So it seems to me that we conscientious recyclers are to be punished by having to make extra steps to avoid being out of pocket. I have my doubts that the consumer will be so fired up to enact the extra steps to achieve the 90% goal.

However, what struck me the most is the almost complete lack of information and communication about what Joe Public will have to do to make this a success. Like several Government-led schemes before – the fire alarm changes comes to mind – with eight months to go the public completely lack the necessary information. The operational roll-out seems to be devoid of scrutiny and given the Goverment's track record will fail to deliver its objectives by lack of public engagement.
Ian McNair, Cellardyke, Fife

No wonder Iran hates the US

WELL remember December 21, 1988, the day when Pan Am 103 fell on Lockerbie in fiery pieces; my sister was living there at the time and it was my birthday. So I hope the forthcoming trial in Washington of Abu Agila Masud throws some light into the shadows, though I doubt we’ll ever get to the truth (“Arrest of new suspect raises fresh questions about Lockerbie bombing”, The Herald, December 17).

While we remember Lockerbie, we should also remember Iran Air 655, a civilian flight from Bandar Abbas in southern Iran to Dubai on July 3, 1988. The aircraft was shot down by the USS Vincennes, an American warship that had intruded into Iranian territorial waters – a fact admitted only three years later by the US. All 290 souls on board the aircraft perished.
The crew of the Vincennes claimed they’d incorrectly identified the aircraft as an F-14, a small fast jet fighter carrying two crew. There was ample evidence available to them to disprove that and it appears they just panicked. At the least, the captain of the Vincennes should have been charged with manslaughter, killing by gross negligence; instead, the US awarded Captain William C Rogers III the Legion of Merit for his “exceptionally meritorious conduct” while in command.
No wonder relations are bad between the US and Iran.
Doug Maughan, Dunblane

The China conundrum

SOME recent research shows that the UK continues to  provide China with overseas aid (to the tune of £51.7 billion last year).China is the second-wealthiest country on the planet so to say this beggars belief is an understatement.
Just think how this money could have been used to fill some gaps in meeting nurses and teachers’ pay requests and generally improving working conditions in the NHS. Who knows, there might have been a wee bit left to mend some potholes.
In any event I thought that we weren’t best pals with China at present, so why keep sending them aid?
Keith Swinley, Ayr

Banks covering their backs

I’VE had a year of home renovations and since most tradesmen want paid in cash rather than by a bank transfer, (strange that…not), I have had to make periodic visits to my bank to withdraw substantial sums of cash.

Each visit has involved my being interrogated by a teller to ensure I am not being duped by some form of scam or am withdrawing the money under duress. I explained that “the wife” made me do it, but they seem to think that doesn’t qualify as duress. The visit to the bank is followed up by a text message from them to ensure I know that should I be being scammed that they are indemnifying themselves from loss if I withhold information.

This is all very admirable were it not for the fact that after queuing for half an hour to actually get to see a teller all my transactions and those of the clients in the queue ahead of me were carried out in public without any form of privacy in a busy forum where any miscreant can sit and pick a target to prey on once they leave the premises. What would Ant and Dec make of it I wonder?
David J Crawford, Glasgow

Kirk should look at church hall fees

DOROTHY Dennis (Letters, December 16) raises the contentious problem of the way forward for the Church of Scotland and its membership. Perhaps part of the problem lies in her concluding paragraph, when she writes "the Kirk seems to think more of business and accountancy than groups of people who use the building". Groups of people? Yes, but sadly not necessarily church members. It is common knowledge that church halls are ever-increasingly let out. If it were not so the financial position of many churches would be even more dire.

Perhaps if these lets charges were addressed by Church of Scotland trustees a more realistic income would result. I stress this suggestion would only apply to non-church organisations.
Allan C Steele, Giffnock

Heat pumps getting off the ground

I READ David Miller’s letter (December 15) regarding heat pumps with interest. We installed ours in 2011, replacing our oil-fired boiler and using only the existing radiators. It works perfectly well and provides both heat and hot water. The hot water is also topped up by solar thermal (not by much lately).

While I concede that heat pumps are probably not suitable for many older buildings, one of the houses in the village has theirs secured outside their first-floor flat and you see them secured high up on many offices and industrial buildings.
Steve Barnet, Gargunnock

Memory stick

I VERY much enjoyed the article on Glasgow’s dance halls ("‘New York’s Roseland Ballroom isn’t a patch on Glasgow’s Locarno’: The city’s dancehall heyday", Herald Magazine, December 17), especially the comments on the Locarno, where I once got 17 refusals on the same night, but was disappointed that it did not extend to mention of The Majestic, or The Magic Stick as it was better known, where I met my wife of 54 years standing.
W MacIntyre, East Kilbride

Letters should not exceed 500 words. We reserve the right to edit submissions.