What not to compost?

It's the first time in my life to have the joys of composting, a smelly bin full of fermenting kitchen odds and ends lurking in the corner, checking the temperature of the compost pile and making sure it doesn't get too pongy! It has been a hit and miss sort of experiment but I feel it's a small step on a longer journey of trying to green my life. In conjunction with my local council recycling initiative I produce about a plastic shopping bag full of rubbish from my kitchen.

But I get the feeling that the amount of recycling material I produce to be disturbing, packaging after packaging and even more packaging! Do we really need all this? What did I buy with so much wrapping that ensures that the item I buy comes to me in its best possible condition. But what are the alternatives? I try to stay away from vegetables which are packaged with the ubiquitous plastic trays and wrapping, I'd rather choose my own and depending if I do not have too many, not to grab a small plastic bag to put things in. I could buy more in bulk, which I have done with rice and pasta and decant them into smaller jars at home! Yet I still have packaging everywhere!

I'm old enough to remember people grumbing about packaging a couple of years ago where I think M&S picked up on and reduced packaging on shirts and other items, but what has happened to this? I already use my own shopping bags and only not take them out when I start running out of bin liners! Is this just one of those things of modern life that I have to accept or what else can a single person household do to reduce this?