Recycling is the final reasonable option, not the first.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

The scam is in the material choices.

Metal and Glass are easy to recycle. It's also cost and environmentally effective. Particularly with reuse of glass bottles.

Paper can also be recycled. It can also be composted with food waste.

Plastics are the big problem. They can't easily be recycled, and the resultant plastic is low quality. Any more than 20% remelt is considered unreliable. The only viable options are landfill or incineration.

Recycling plastics is basically a scam. It shifts the blame onto consumers, letting big companies pocket the savings over glass or (waxed) paper containers.