An EPA-sponsored study in Greensboro, NC is a good example. Sixty six percent preferred that we recycle our way out of the problem. In many cases, its certainly better to recycle product and packaging remains than landfill them. Recycling is reactive. Its like looking for a hangover cure after a night of heavy drinking.
Source reduction is proactive.
Its like drinking moderately in the first place. The better choice is obvious. Reducing and recycling together far outweigh the advantages of each alone. A good way to think about using less is to call it precycling. The idea is to use the smallest amount of resources needed to do a specific task, then recycle.