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. By making products from recycled materials instead of virgin materials, we conserve land and reduce the need to drill for oil and dig for minerals. In most cases, making products from recycled materials creates less air pollution and water pollution than making products from virgin materials. When the materials that you recycle go into new products, they don't go into landfills or incinerators, so landfill space is conserved.