Recycling has a negligible impact on this problem. The big areas that could actually make a difference are: Power generation, mass transit, and food production.

Recycling has a negligible impact on this problem. The big areas that could actually make a difference are: Power generation, mass transit, and food production. But we don't seem to have the political will to fix any of these areas. Pushing ineffective solutions that require effort from consumers is an unfortunately effective trick to keep people distracted.