By golly, Mike Miles was pointing his finger at me when he questioned the lack of citizen support for recycling (“Recycling failure speaks louder than words” American Journal, July 12). And rightfully so.

Although I fully agreed with his committee’s recommendations for pay for bag/curbside recycling, I was silent when I should have voiced my opinion as a Westbrook citizen. I, too, am embarrassed that our city has such a pathetic recycling rate. The pay for bag incentive works, and I don’t have a problem with the small cost for me to participate.

I recycle now, because it’s the right thing to do. I make the weekly trip to the bins, and on pickup day, there’s usually just a 20 gallon container (for two people) in my driveway. In my small way, I’m saving the city money by reducing the amount I’d otherwise contribute to the mountain of trash the city has to burn each year.

Mike Miles and his task force have done an outstanding job, and their sound recommendations ought to be enacted. I want to be able to point with pride to Westbrook’s recycling rate. Let’s get with it.

Carl Zeis

Westbrook