Today it should be considered a minimum, not a maximum. Recycling is more expensive than trash collection and disposal. Landfills and incinerators are more cost-effective and environmentally sound than recycling options. Recycling materials not only avoids the pollution that would be generated through landfilling and incinerating these, but also reduces the environmental burden of virgin materials extraction and manufacturing processes.
Landfills are significant job generators for rural communities.
Currently these rules encourage unchecked product consumption and disposal. Public-sector intervention is needed to shape a system in which materials are produced, used, discarded, and recovered efficiently. Even after we level the playing field, favoring disposal alternatives makes sense because of its many community and public sector benefits.