I can reassure your readers that the new Liberal Democrat administration on Oxford City Council does NOT approve of the destruction of seized equipment, with a wanton disregard for its possible recycling or reuse (Oxford Mail, May 31).

I would like to point out that, unhappily, we cannot give it to charity or recycle it.

We cannot give electrical items to charity because of consumer safety legislation, which means there has to be an electrical safety check of each piece of equipment we seize.

Nor can we recycle them as the recycling of electrical products is still in its infancy and at present, we are unable to find a company which will accept and recycle electrical products.

We explained this to your reporter at the time.

We emphasised that the council will not tolerate people who play loud music and cause a nuisance to their neighbours. We will take action and will remove their equipment and they won't get it back.

However, we will continue to work to find a company that does provide recycling of electrical items.

Meanwhile, our City Works department will collect large white goods, such as washing machines and fridges, and these can now be recycled. Call 01865 252900 to request a free collection.

JEAN FOOKS (Councillor) Executive member for cleaner city, Oxford City Council