Sir, – I sympathise with Eileen Foley's suggestion of a levy on junk mail (July 4th). However, it would be even simpler to make this practice explicitly illegal. I have contacted my local authority, Wicklow County Council, about this. Its legal department maintains that these deliveries are not illegal under either the waste management or litter Acts and will not take action. While I strongly disagree with this interpretation and believe these deliveries constitute illegal dumping, the important point is that the council will not move against these distributors.
It is time therefore to update the waste management Acts to ban junk mail where there is a clear notice prohibiting these deliveries. Other countries, such as Australia, already have this legislation. – Yours, etc,
DONAL McGRATH,
Greystones, Co Wicklow.