I would tend to be more in favor of reusing/repurposing things where possible rather than recycling.

Recycling plastic is generally a huge waste; it's nearly as resource intensive as producing new plastic, messier, and the resultant plastic is limited in its usage. There are exceptions for certain types of plastic, but generally speaking plastic recycling is a net loss- the biggest benefit is keeping the stuff out of landfills for another iteration or two.

Recycling paper is a gray area; it's true that using recycled paper reduces the amount of wood needed to produce new paper, but it's also true that the chemical processes involved in recycling paper are very rough on the environment, even when compared to harvesting trees in the first place- particularly since most tree harvesting in the first world carries regulations requiring replanting and the like. There is also the landfill space argument here, but most paper is biodegradable (if slowly)- and the paper that is not biodegradable tends to also not be recyclable, with a few exceptions.

Metal, on the other hand, should almost always be recycled. It can almost always be melted down and reused in a process that is cheaper and easier on the environment than smelting newly-mined ores, with an end product that is essentially identical. It is a huge waste for metal to end up in a landfill.

Glass is similar to metal in that it is easy to recycle- but in the case of glass, it is still somewhat cheaper to produce new glass, particularly when a specific type of glass is needed. The raw materials for most glass are not in short supply by any stretch either. Another one where the main benefit is to keep it out of a landfill.