Reduce, reuse.

Recycling is last because it's not very good. 

There's always been emphasis on recycling, but electronics and assembled products are difficult to recycle and often aren't. Designing for disassembly helps when the user follows through, same for repairability. 

The landfills you see from the highway or on tv are hard to gauge. There's only so much a person can do about it. Our days are full, it's hard to be conscious of it. Or it's difficult to afford the sustainable option.

Sustainable manufacturing and designing for a Circular Economy are promising ideas. We need systems to be put in place even though systems are difficult to implement. Designs need to guide our hand to good practices. Make it a behavior that isn't too different from what people already do or know how to do. Easier said than done, but worth saying.

Also, apparently there are 10 Rs now, starting from the most effective to least:

Refuse

Rethink

Reduce

Reuse

Repair

Refurbish

Remanufacture

Repurpose

Recycle

Recover