Reduce, Reuse, Recycle isn't a joke, and is in order of what should take precedence. And as for plastic recycling, https://text.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled (tl;dr it's total bullshit. it's expensive to do, and recycled plastic is worse and more expensive than virgin plastic. It probably cannot even handle two recycles before becoming totally worthless, that's how crappy recycled plastic is)
The dumbest part is how we are disallowed from reusing many things. One small example out of a limitless number: Every time I buy milk I have to buy a brand new plastic container, because that is the only way I can purchase it. And it is the exact same as the old kind of plastic container. I can't just go to the store and pour a refill and pay for that.