THERE will be plenty of discussion about the new Pendle scheme to have wheelie bins that are emptied every two weeks.

But this letter is to explain who we should blame (or praise) for this change.

In Burnley, where this scheme has been in place for a few weeks, there has been widespread concern and an 8,000-word petition delivered to the town hall, but it is not the council's fault.

This was all decided some time ago in Brussels when the EU Landfill Directive was issued. Without discussion, without appearing in any manifesto, the highly-paid, unelected Eurocrats have decided what is best for us.

The reduced bin collection is just one manifestation of these tedious Euro waste regulations.

It is having a major negative impact on regeneration of brownfield sites (my line of work) because of the complexity of all the rules. And ironically it has put paid to many recycling schemes because any processes using "waste" need masses of permits.

So the next time you see the wheelie bins making front gardens look ugly, an old lady struggling to pull one of these monsters, smell rubbish that has festered for 13 days or have seen the fly-tipped rubbish on our country lanes, don't blame the councils. They are only obeying the likes of Kinnock, Mandleson and various foreigners -- their masters in Brussels.

GRAHAM CANNON, UK Independence Party, Foulridge, Colne.