Comment by coldtea

It really depends on the type of material and country. Many monoplastics and almost all cardboard can be recycled and is (e.g. in Germany and other European countries).

> Recycling mostly means "sent to landfills in the third world"

This is less true now that China banned plastic waste imports.

I agree though that the average person might overestimate how much of their waste can be recycled. However, many materials are recycled and then re-used, so it's not like the whole concept is a scam.