Only recycling aluminum is a profitable undertaking. For most other items the costs of separation, transport etc. is greater than the amount paid for these items.

I read about a program in Europe where rules added a tax to items depending on the amount of waste produced when the items was disposed. To save this tax and reduce the price of an item due to the tax, businesses were proactively designing products with a lot of recycleable materials, or to reduce the packaging that needed disposal. More of a way to encourage the free market to be responsible.