Every time this comes up, which is about six times a year, I mutter, "Jeez, not again" and promise not to respond...then I leap right in.
Here is the final word on this topic, and let's have no more to say about it: Carry a spare tube. If you have a flat, put in the spare tube, because that takes three minutes. Patch the old tube when you get home. But carry a patch kit, too, because some day you'll have TWO flats on a ride (I once had nine on a century).
Don't worry about patches being unreliable. I've been riding for more than 40 years, surely applied hundreds of patches, and I've had only two failures. One was my fault--the tube had Slime in it, and I didn't clean it all off before I put on the rubber cement and patch. The other one, I dunno.
FWIW, that's with conventional, glue-on patches. My failure rate with glueless on road bikes is about 50 percent.

Up to you, of course, but here in the Land of Big Thorns, NOBODY rides this way. I don't keep track anymore, but when I did, I averaged a flat every 32 miles one summer, and that's not unusual here. My RT commute is 25 miles, which i ride about three times a week, and I expect a flat a week. I've had as many as six, even with Kevlar-belted tires (lots of construction out in the desert, and the trucks moving around apparently bring thorns onto the pavement).
I don't trust CO2--it only takes a small mistake to pffft your resources into the atmosphere, and they don't inflate my 35mm tires as high as I need them anyway. The pollution/waste issue is a little troubling, too--why toss two carts every time I have a flat to save myself 90 strokes of pumping? Plus my Zefal frame-fit never runs out of air.
Finally, do you never ride where there aren't gas stations? Around here, at least, probably two-thirds of my time is miles from an air hose, which many self-serve stations no longer have anyway. Buy yourself a pump, dude...

Blimey. How long does it take you to patch a tube/how much do you earn an hour?

I never get this thing about patches being a weak spot. How can 2 layers of rubber be worse than one? I've never had a patch fail on me.

Or maybe you should move to the big city where they routinely have street sweepers, Gomer. Really a pump is not needed I may get a flat maybe once in a thousand miles. It all depends on your situation.

PS Cartridges are recyclable.

I carry a tube, a patch kit, a "boot" made from a 7-8" length of old tire, and a frame pump. I have only had to use a boot once but I was sure glad to have it in that time of need.

And yes, I patch tubes over and over and have never had a patch fail.

+1

Patching a tube can often be done quicker than replacing a tube. Everyone seems to forget you can patch a tube by simply pulling out a short section of tube without taking the wheel off the bike, or without even unseating the entire tire. I keep a patch kit in my pocket, and on rides that will take me less than 10 or 12 miles from home, I usually don't bother with a tube. Longer than that, I take both.

I got a flat on my ride today. Saw a piece of glass sticking out of my rear tire. I patched it without taking the entire tire, wheel or tube off. Quick inexpensive fix.

Correct