These are all the charity bags that I have received

Two years on and I now have 76 plastic bags and ten leaflets. I think a few may have been used as rubbish bags during this period so I’ll round it up to an even 80.

I know it can be hard for charities to maintain public awareness and are often competing amongst themselves, but really? Is my two person household expected to be able to provide more than a bag a week of clothing, bedding (what the majority are asking for)? I think even in a typical three to four person household this would remain unrealistic.

Many of the bags offer a collection service for the unused bag. I have tried leaving them out but have not had a single one taken away. On the odd occasion I think it might have been I find it somewhere down the road, probably blown away by the wind. I could keep them until I have a bag full and take them to e.g. a supermarket recycling station but realistically there is every chance they will be used as rubbish bags or simply thrown away. I fear that would be a common outcome if other households were asked what they did with them.

There is also the risk that you might be fuelling a scam operation so I’m left with the onus of checking who I might be giving goods to. For that reason the three to four bags of charitable donations I gather each year are taken directly to a charity shop outlet on the high street, making the whole bag drop redundant to me with no way of opting out.

My overall concern is the potential hundreds or thousands of plastic bags being dropped but ending up in non recyclable waste wheelie bins and eventually landfill. I am of the firm opinion it is about time this practice was made illegal and that donation bags were only delivered to addresses that opt in to received them. This might be tough on charities if they have to canvas for opt-in addresses and maintain a list but can they really continue inadvertently sending all this plastic to landfill in good conscience?

Free newspapers and takeaway menus are also something I wish I could opt out of. I have more takeaway menus delivered than charity bags! Most of the free papers get glanced at for two minutes before ending up in the recycling. I really don’t want either but the biggest bother with them is they are left very often only pushed part way through the letter box. This is a security worry, especially when away for the weekend or on holiday for a week or two as it is an easy marker as to whether you have been home or not.

I’m not sure what the solution to all this might be but I did have one idea for a letter box labelling scheme.

That is just one idea which could possibly solve the problem with a little more thinking and a way of pushing it out to the public. It also saves charities and any other materials destined for your letterbox the cost and trouble of maintaining an opt-in list whilst meaning people like me can hopefully look forward to receiving a lot less junk through my door and consequently we cut down fewer trees and put less plastic in the ground! - M G Maltby, Llewellyn Road, Leamington Spa.

Pictured: The many charity bags that have been sent to MG Maltby.