isn't there.

"Like many things here, people tend to turn a blind eye... but now that we're seeing the after-effects, we're just moving from one one-stop shop method to another.'' -- Heather Henderson, quoted in today's newspaper.

When Government decided to stop using the Pembroke Dump to dispose of the Isand's waste and to move to incineration, a commitment was made that Bermuda would also undertake an aggressive recycling programme.

There were concerns that the cost of recycling would outweigh the fiscal benefits, but it was recognised that Bermuda should do what it could to reduce, re-use and recycle.

Today, it would appear, that initiative, never vigorously pursued, has essentially failed.

As Mrs. Henderson notes, we "burn everything and recycle nothing'', or virtually nothing. Some glass and aluminium are packaged at the Devon Springs Recycling Plant, but not all.

Little or no paper is recycled, despite past hopes that it would be used for animal bedding or compost, or to be shipped abroad.

Mrs. Henderson notes that Bermuda no longer dumps as much, but burns with exactly the same vigour and precisely the same disregard for actually cutting waste that used to be used to fill Pembroke Marsh and other dumps.

To some degree, this is typical of an affluent society. But it also shows a disregard for an environment which is increasingly under threat.

In the past, ideas have been put forward for bottle deposits, increased use of recycled paper, reuse of plastic containers and a host of other ways of reducing the Island's trash flows. All have been killed, the reasons given usually centring on cost, Bermuda's relative isolation. But the real reason they died was sheer indifference.

If the rate at which we produce garbage is not reduced, the result will be the need for a second, costly incinerator stream, more trash on the streets and more garbage floating on the waters.

Bermuda can do better than that.

ROAD DEATHS EDT Road deaths Bermuda recorded its tenth road fatality of the year yesterday, a death rate which no-one should be proud of, in spite of the fact that it lags far behind last year's carnage.

The fact is that the quality of driving has improved very little in the last year and it may be a matter of mere luck that the death toll has not been higher.

We may never be free of road deaths; accidents will happen and riding a bike invites serious injury in the event of an accident.

But basic good road manners and obeying the speed limit will go a long way towards saving lives, especially at this time of year.