DESPITE most of us being committed to recycle as much as possible around two thirds of plastic items still can't be recycled.

Analysis by the Local Government Association suggests 525,000 tonnes of plastic pots, tubs and trays are used by households a year.

But just 169,145 tonnes can be recycled with two-thirds heading for landfill or incineration.

What about Lucozade bottles?

Lucozade's bottle is recyclable but it is enclosed in a sleeve made from a different kind of plastic. If the sleeve is removed, that's fine.

So why can't black plastic ready meal trays be recycled but other colours can?

A number of supermarkets use black plastic food trays across their packaging, most recognisably used for ready meals, but these are not recycled in the UK because of the carbon black pigment in the plastic. Sorting machines cannot the detect the trays because of the pigment.

What else can't be recycled?

Cleaning spray bottles: Labels often say the product is recyclable, but that’s only the body. The spray has two or three other polymers and a metal spring meaning it's almost impossible to recycle them.

So why can't Pringles tubes be recycled?

The distinctive Pringles packaging is made up of a number of different materials - with its metal base, plastic cap, metal tear-off lid, and foil-lined cardboard sleeve - is a nightmare to recycle.

Why does so much plastic not get recycled?

Councils said they had done all they can to tackle plastic waste, with 99 per cent of local authorities collecting plastic bottles for recycling and 77 per cent picking up pots, tubs and trays.

Packaging for food can be made from a variety of polymers, the molecules which make up plastic, which need to be separated out to remove low-grade and non-recyclable types of plastic such as polystyrene.

Some packaging uses different plastics such as the body and lid of a yogurt pot, while fruit and vegetables punnets are made from three types of polymer, and microwave meals cased in black plastic which cannot be easily sorted.

What do local authorities have to say about it?

Judith Blake, the Local Government Association’s environment spokesman, said: "It's time for manufacturers to stop letting a smorgasboard of unrecyclable and damaging plastic flow into our environment.

"We've been calling for producers of unrecyclable material to develop a plan to stop this from entering the environment for years.

"That needs to happen urgently, but the Government should now consider banning low-grade plastics, particularly those for single use, in order to increase recycling.

"If manufacturers don't want to get serious about producing material which can be recycled and protecting our environment, then they should at least contribute towards the cost that local taxpayers have to pay to clear it up."

What are supermarkets and food packaging manufacturers doing about it?

In September last year a cross-industry group, including retailers, packaging manufacturers, and brands, made a commitment to find solutions of how to sustainably recycle black plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays by the end of 2018, according to Packaging News.

Led by charity Recoup, which aims to increase the levels of plastic recycling in the UK, the industry group will attempt to find new technology solutions to help sort black plastic packaging as part of its remit.

Following Theresa May’s announcement of the government’s plans to eliminate the use of all avoidable plastic within 25 years, a number of supermarkets have set out their own plans to tackle the overuse of plastic.

Iceland will remove all plastic packaging from its own brand products over the next five years, replacing plastic trays with paper and pulp trays. Tesco has promised to make all of its packaging fully recyclable and compostable by 2015, while Asda will make all of its packaging recyclable by 2025.