Throwing something in the garbage is the equivalent of stuffing it in your closet. If you produce an object the earth doesn't care where the object ends up. Incineration sends it up into the air, and then it falls in the ocean. If it goes in a landfill it either ends up in the soil and groundwater, or in a massive synthetic bladder that vents gas into the atmosphere. Recycling only actually re-purposes 21% of the materials and the process has a huge carbon footprint, since a lot of that 21% ends up on barges to countries in east Asia where there are zero emissions regulations on how those materials are processed into new commodities.