COUNCILS continue to make dark hints that retribution will surely follow if we don't curb our wasteful ways.

Actually, punitive measures would almost certainly meet with my heartfelt, totally unconditional approval if it were not for the fact that the current landfill crisis is mainly caused by large stores.

Let's face it, their reluctance to sell anything without the obligatory tons of packaging is the main reason why Britain appears to be in danger of disappearing under a tsunami of rubbish.

Instead of politicians bleating about the throwaway society all the time, it would be refreshing if they would occasionally blame the real culprits. Of course, this will never happen - and for all the usual reasons.

On top of all this we have the built-in obsolescence factor which seems to become more marked with the passing of each day. This is no minor consideration for someone such as myself, who has collected not only several tons of vinyl over the years, but also has a large box of 78s that can now only be played on a Hacker record player.

Floppy discs are the latest casualty. I bought a memory stick the other day and asked the man how soon these would be overtaken. Not long, he said - the next technological stage would involve light. Eh?

Anyway, I recently tried to give a piano away and met with no luck whatsoever. I contacted social services, old people's homes, keyboard companies and none of them fancied an old iron frame upright Joanna.

Determined not to become a young farmer and smash it to bits, I walked up and down the street knocking on doors and then rang the blind college who said thanks for the offer but we're not interested.

In the end, with a heavy heart, I broke it up. Unless I burn the bits in my home-made brazier, it will soon be heading for landfill. It's a crazy world.