New carbon vs fancy aluminum?

So I’m thinking I want a road bike. I ride cross primarily and love my Jake the Snake, but I find myself training more and more on roads only, especially in the summer. After doing the road segment of a relay race, I think I’m ready to pursue some road racing as well.

Now, I love the idea of an aluminum bike like the Trek Emonda ALR 5 and Specialized Allez Sprint. I like how these are great bikes despite being made from ‘inferior’ aluminum. The Emonda is ~$2,300, and the Allez is ~$3000.

But about in the middle at $2,700 is the Giant TCR Advanced, which is a carbon fiber frame. I’ve ridden a used 2017 TCR and I’m not gonna lie, it got me hot and bothered. It’s so damn zippy compared to my JTS.

All bikes would be 105 groupset.

So what’s the rub? Aluminum bikes can be recycled, carbon fiber will end up in a landfill. The Trek and Specialized are basically identical in every way, whereas the Giant seems to have the most aggressive geometry.

I just plan on doing some local road races, climbs (lots of climbs!), etc. I know I’m no pro and don’t have any ambitions of becoming one, and I don’t go for long rides just because (usually less than 2hrs on a zone 2 day, I like to sprint).

Is the TCR too much bike for me? I like Giant as a company, I just don’t want to be adding to landfill waste unnecessarily. I know I should try them all and go from there, but I live in the far corner of the country without anything in stock for miles…