1) recycling does not matter (individual impacts aren't strong enough to influence global trends)

2) recycling and trash in the US are not that different

Digging a bit deeper, I began to notice how youth perceptions have been strongly influenced by climate denialism and political uncertainty. With companies and certain individual actions holding large impacts in emissions, it seems that individual actions cannot change much. This idea further removes people from the idea of climate action, where individual actions seem lackluster in the face of massive organizations. 

In the US, only 5% of plastic is recycled; only bottles and jugs are commonly known to have recycling chances. Furthermore, impurities [things that cannot be recycled], if mixed into recycling bins, will force the entire load to be thrown in the trash. 

Given that public awareness in the young generation is low, very few people actively recycle (beyond convenience), there is great distrust in the potential of the recycling system, and individual actions seem to hold little impact. There is a strong need for information campaigns that show the necessity for recycling and the empowerment of individual actions.

Sources:

https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/3712999-why-most-plastic-isnt-getting-recycled/#:~:text=Based%20on%202019%20data%2C%20the,in%20America%2C%E2%80%9D%20Dell%20said.