Are we really serious in recycling?

Lipstick goes into burnables; lipstick tubes, ''after the contents have been used up,'' into ''small metals'' or plastics. Take out your tape measure before tossing a kettle: under 12 inches, it goes into small metals, but over that it goes into bulky refuse.
Socks? If only one, it is burnable; a pair goes into used cloth, though only if the socks ''are not torn, and the left and right sock match.'' Throw neckties into used cloth, but only after they have been ''washed and dried.'' 

Source:  How Do Japanese Dump Trash? Let Us Count the Myriad Ways

It may be an article written 3 years ago but I believed it is still in place now.  And reading it, I realised how tedious recycling is.  Anyway I was researching on how serious SG takes its recycling efforts... and after reading this article, I'm beginning to doubt if SG is just doing for display sake only.  Because our recycling bins are usually split into 2 categories, or 3 at most.  And does everybody really split their rubbish?  I know that no matter how many times I tell my mum that she shouldn't use plastic to hold the recycled paper if she is intending to throw into the mixed paper tin, she still feels that should be the way to bring down the paper.  If that is the case, then does the person collect the recylced materials really split the materials up or do they really just dump all these into one big rubbish truck and send for incineration?

Are we really serious in recycling?