Read through both articles, and they do go into detail, especially the second one.
I don’t believe in the stupid ‘zero-waste’ thing it talks about, and I agree that recycling for recycling’s sake is pointless. But, and as the article points out, some materials are worth recycling - especially metals. Landfill space may be cheap, but long term that’s not a good solution. And recycling basic things - paper, metal, glass, plastic is pretty easy for people to do. As it’s economical to do so.
Something I didn’t see anywhere in the article is stuff that doesn’t go in the recycling bin - oils, chemicals, paint, electronics. Most of those are recycled separately, and there are companies that do this, Autozone takes your oil for free, and used computer parts stores generally will accept old electronics. Stuff like this that that article didn’t look at does tilt the equation a bit more towards recycling being a good and economic choice.
And, we did’t get much into the better recycling term - reuse. I’ll save some jars for the workbench, useful for screws and bolts and stuff. Gallon jugs are used for oil changes. Stuff like that.
You’re right for voluntary recycling. Some makes sense. Having to separate and wash your garbage because it makes people feel good makes nearly no sense.
About the only thing that makes sense is aluminum.
Re-using and re-purposing stuff makes sense and saves you money.
I’m glad you enjoyed the articles. I really liked the second one from Cato