while all i can actually do as a consumer is put the recyclable items, as labeled, in the recycling bin, and make sure i'm doing it right and then hope it gets dealt with correctly, the only things i can't recycle are:
1) number 5 plastics, and particularly lids. people don't realize this - you can't recycle the lids, and i mean of anything. salad dressings, shampoo, milk, juice - the lids are not recyclable, anywhere. so, i have this giant pile of lids that i don't know what to do with. there was a time when whole foods had a number five recycling program, but i don't know if it's still operating. i guess there's two ways around this - you could either mandate recycling these lids, or mandate making the lids out of something more recyclable. but, that's the number one problem i have...and the major thing i'd like to see addressed. for now, i just hang on to them...
2) coffee cup lids at stores should be regulated so that they are biodegradable.
3) films on packaged items like cheese and meat (for me, it's cheese that's the biggest culprit) are another substantive hole in the process. if you look into it, they claim they can't recycle these for sanitation reasons, but that's obviously just a pile of bullshit. and, i can't afford to buy fancy cheeses at the butcher shop, either. it probably makes sense to regulate these items so they're more biodegradable than so that they're more recyclable, but they're really the only source of actual waste that i produce on a weekly basis, week in and week out.