A sailing boat made from 12,500 recycled plastic bottles successfully negotiated four months crossing the Pacific Ocean to reach Sydney Harbour last month. The crew of the Plastiki, a 60ft catamaran, had one simple mission – to raise awareness of the perils of plastic waste littering the world’s oceans.

Back on dry land, announcing a new Government review of England’s waste strategy last month, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman has called for a “zero waste society” in a bid to cut the amount of rubbish, particularly that which is recyclable or biodegradable, going to landfill. Among the issues the review will look at is the need to provide clearer labelling of what can be recycled.

This is something that Salisbury city councillor Bobbie Chettleburgh feels strongly about, but she goes one step further: “We are paying through our council taxes to arrange for recycling. We should be targeting the shops who overpackage goods so that there is less to dispose of. Packaging that cannot be recycled ends up in landfill. It should not even be produced in the first place.”

It is encouraging to note that Mrs Spelman is targeting manufacturers in her review and highlighted toy manufacturers as an example in her announcement, stating that a proportion of packaging was “actually marketing material.” Goods in fancy packaging can tempt customers, but it is the product inside that matters.

What can people do?

Naturally, take advantage of local council recycling schemes and it is generally plastic material that causes the most confusion.

Both Wiltshire Council and New Forest District Council have kerbside recycling for plastic bottles only (residents in Wiltshire have blue-topped bins, in the New Forest, clear sacks). That still leaves an awful lot of plastic packaging to dispose of, much of which is unrecyclable.

I spoke to a member of Wiltshire Council’s waste management team who reminded me that more types of plastic can be recycled at the recycling centres such as at Churchfields and in Amesbury and that there are staff on site to offer assistance.

If you feel strongly about overpackaged goods, as I do, one simple answer is not to buy them.

Mushrooms, for example, do not need to be in plastic trays and shrink wrapped plastic. Buying loose is far better.

And you can always take off any excess packaging at shop counters and give it back to them, though I am not convinced of this having any effect. It is simply something else the shop assistant has to deal with and probably does not get back to the manufacturer at the root of the problem.

Writing to your MP might help in the light of the Government review, or you can always do what one Salisbury-based artist is doing and upcycle, turning rubbish into art.

Suzie Gutteridge is passionate about the environment, incorporating natural, found and man-made materials into many of her works. This giant wave (pictured) was made from plastic bags, Coke bottles, sweet wrappers and empty crisp packets, and was one of her works at an exhibition in Salisbury Library in March 2009, called Remoulding. She has experimented with paper cups to make a striking piece of wall art and used a piece of discarded wood to make a light box.

Suzie’s work is thought provoking, and can be seen at the Oxfam Gallery in Catherine Street, Salisbury, in September.