Sir – Whilst Ken Weavers has a valid point, that people ought to be able to do some of the separation of recyclable materials (Letters, January 28) the council faces a dilemma: many people see recycling as unnecessary and a bother.

The council has made great efforts to persuade people to recycle everything possible, but there is apparently much that is still thrown out, and not sorted for recycling. So what should the council do to encourage more recycling?

Having a single container for all such materials might help. Perhaps it might be possible to offer the option of putting out recyclables separated, or all together, according to the inclinations of the household. Ultimately, manufacturers and distributors need to be made financially responsible for all the costs of disposal of used materials, with additional charges associated with the use of materials which can’t be recycled; polystyrene packing in its various forms comes to mind, in the latter category. A further issue is the great variety of plastics in use. Arguably, there should be strong financial pressure for the use of a single, easily identifiable, re-usable polymer, for each broad category of use, for plastic containers and packing. The aim would be to facilitate complete recycling, to make more of the same type of plastic.

The present free-for-all, where initial cost is the major determinant, leading to a wide range of incompatible polymers all mixed up together, is wasteful, unsustainable and ought to stop.

Chris Osman, Oxford