Outraged that some plastic you send for recycling ends up being burned? Don’t be | James Piper

Recycling is, by its nature, complicated. The imperfections in the process don't mean the whole system is a con

The process of recycling is, by its nature, complicated. We put our mix of rubbish in the right bins, and from that point onwards hope that those we entrust it to - be it local councils picking up rubbish or supermarket recycling schemes - will do the rest. If this is you, then you may be dismayed to learn that a recent Everyday Plastics report found that most soft plastics collected by two of Britain's biggest supermarkets are not being recycled and are, instead, incinerated.

Soft plastics are anything flimsy that you can scrunch in your hand: think bread bags, pouches, clingfilm, chocolate wrappers and crisp packets. But as this latest report shows, they aren't as easily recyclable as you might think. Here's why.

James Piper is the co-host of the Talking Rubbish podcast and author of The Rubbish Book

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.