At least, properly separated, it degrades and can be reprocessed into more paper and cardboard. The US exports CRT televisions and chipsets for electronics with such minimal production quality as to be considered destined-for-disposal.
Even something as simple as being able to have a clerk fill my jar with a weight of instant coffee would cut down my recycling mass by an average of about 50g per week and eliminate some plastic. Glass doesn't have a limit on recycle phases if handled correctly but all plastic other than PLA has a pretty short recycle lifetime.