Laura Maxwell Stuart, of East Allington, writes: Your recent article about cutting food waste left me extremely concerned. It was reported that 24 per cent of general rubbish is made up of food waste and this accounts for the largest single element that households are throwing away. This is shocking in a county that prides itself as having the highest recycling rate in the country and provides every home with a brown 'composting' bin. Your article talked primarily to the potential additional cost to tax payers in landfill fees, but it is food waste's impact on climate change, due to green house gas emissions, which should be of far greater concern. When food waste is sent to landfill it emits the extremely noxious greenhouse gas, methane, and with seven million tonnes of waste being produced by UK households annually, this raises levels considerably. Methane is not the only problem. The production of food from farm to fork is an energy intensive process creating large amounts of 'embedded' CO2. It estimated that 18 million tonnes of CO2 is released into the atmosphere annually because Britons buy food that is never eaten. A comprehensive campaign is required to draw householders' attention to the need to better utilise their brown bins and manage their food consumption. For example, are households aware that all food waste, including cooked and uncooked meat and fish as well as vegetable peelings, can be placed inside it? Equally, it has been calculated that the average family spends up to £700 per annum on food that is never eaten. What can be done to assist consumers consider the carbon footprint of the food they are buying, and that doesn't just include the food miles in exotic fruit and coffee? Meat, especially beef and lamb, have the highest carbon emissions of any food. Blame cannot be laid only at the door of the individual, as supermarkets' marketing strategies such as 'two-for-one' deals and the often-ridiculous use-by dates do not help. However, if we all pulled together and managed our waste better we could reduce carbon emissions by as much as three per cent. I therefore challenge Cllr Rufus Gilbert and this newspaper to take the issue of waste and food more seriously, and to work with the people of the South Hams to reduce our carbon footprint.