The latest green plea? Put less in the recycling

Households will be urged to keep soggy cardboard, half-finished takeaways and plastic bags out of their recycling bins as part of a government drive to end "wishcycling".

Ministers plan to ask people in England to put less in their recycling bins because too much of what we throw away is contaminating the system.

Officials are concerned that misguided recyclers are putting in items such as crisp packets, toothpaste tubes and juice cartons in the false hope of helping the environment, when in fact they are doing the reverse. Those items can make subsequent separation and recycling significantly harder and, sometimes, impossible.

The guidance will be published in the summer, the i newspaper reported. The government will also seek to clear up some of the confusion