Bryan Howe English December 10, 2013 UALR

Is throwing that used Coke can in the trash an unforgivable sin? That really comes down to who you ask. When it comes to the great recycling debate, you will find plenty of people on either side with convincing arguments. The main issue with these two sides is that the people giving the arguments are usually misinformed, over simplified and simply untrue. Ive always wondered where my cans and bottles go when I put them into the recycling can, and also wondered what is done with them. Since I was a kid I was always told to put glass, plastic and my empty soda cans in the recycling bin so that they can be made into new material and help save the world. As Ive grown older, Ive wondered if my days of playing Captain Planet were worth it. According to the website environmental leader 25% of Americans dont recycle at all, which leaves me to wonder if this 25% of the population are somehow the enlightened ones and know something that I dont. (Environmental Leader) This

question is significant because whether or not recycling works, it affects our daily lives in a large way. My first source is from a website called List verse which gives you 10 facts about how recycling is actually bad for the environment. I chose this source because it had some great information about my topic, as well as things I did not know about. Some could say the material is a bit biased, but the information is backed up and cited for references. Some interesting facts that it provides are how the contamination from materials you throw away are leaked and informs us that contamination is one of the biggest threats in the recycling industry. If there is lead paint on the original product, or other toxins and harmful material, it will most likely make it through the recycling process and then end up in the newly made product. (Handley) These could include another paint can, aluminum construction sheets, or even the soda can you drink out of. I personally found these facts pretty shocking, and yet again made me reconsider recycling. On the other hand, it made me skeptical. If this happens in recycling plants, Im sure they must know about it. If they know about it, why wouldnt they do something to stop it? Is it because they dont care? Or is it because it would cost too much to remove from the materials. Personally, I think that anyone who owns a recycling plant and knows about these situations would try and do something about it if the toxin was harmful to its consumers. This source helped me question what actually happens to the

toxins in your everyday materials and where some of them may end up. People would have to really think about the exact process that goes into breaking down and recycling your old materials. Sometimes it can be easy, and other times it can be extremely difficult. Another source I found very useful was by Popular Mechanics. It gives a list of the 5 most popular myths about recycling. I chose this source because I thought it did a great job at answering some of the most common questions people have when it comes to recycling. One of the myths that it talks about is that people have to recycle because we are running out of landfill space. I thought this was a great point to address because I too have wondered how much space we have exactly when it comes to materials we throw away, especially when some of those materials dont decompose for thousands of years. It states, According to the National Solid Wastes Association, the United States has about 20 years of disposal capacity left in existing landfills (Hutchinson) On the other hand we have Mises.org that states that the number of landfills is in fact dropping, but the size of them are getting bigger. This is due to the fact that communities and environmental organizations have risen against landfills because of their environmental hazards. (Lilley) One of my favorite points that Popular Mechanics wrote about is the question on whether or not the plastic you recycle just gets put in the trash or not. I have heard this rumor a lot from friends and family, but never thought it was true. They say

this one is in fact true, but only for now. Thanks to advanced technology, it is now easier to separate plastics from other materials. Recycling plants have had a tough time sorting through the plastic in the past because its hard to spot them in a giant pile of waste. Apparently some pieces still make it through the assembly line. There is actually a cool explanation t that explains that most plastic that you put into the recycling cant even be recycled properly. There are about seven different kinds of plastic that youll find in day to day life, and only two of them are recyclable. Anything else placed in a recycling bin will be collected, processed and sorted and then thrown straight into a landfill. (Handley) One of the main issues that has always concerned me is do the benefits of recycling outweigh the cost? We all know that recycling any material is not cheap, especially when some of those materials were made for the purpose of lasting for a long time. According to about.com, the benefits do not outweigh the cost. The Natural Resources Defense Council and Environmental Defense, two of the nations most influential environmental organizations each issued reports detailing the benefits of recycling and showing how municipal recycling programs reduce pollution, landfills, all for less than garbage disposal. (Earth Talk) I was very pleased and somewhat relieved to hear this, and to also read that recycling actually costs less then its counterpart. Your average once a week recycling program will cost the state on average anywhere from 50 dollars to 150

dollars per ton, while garbage pick up programs will cost 70 to 200 dollars per ton. (Earth Talk) This was something that I did not know. I think most people believe that if you need to recycle something, that it must take more labor and therefore be more expensive. If this is true, I may be able to save the state a few extra dollars. When it comes to the question of whether or not throwing away that coke can is something to think twice about, then Im not sure if I can give you an exact answer. There seems to be legitimate arguments on both sides, and it is hard to determine what fact is, and what assumption is. This research has really made me think about why it is that we chose to recycle in the first place when it offers no real benefit to us personally, at least nothing that will affect our day in a large way. Ive determined that the main reason we do it is because of the feeling of gratification it gives us. It seems like buying products made from recyclable materials and putting bottles in the recycling bin have made us feel like our very own Captain Planets, reliving our youth and feeling like we somehow made an impact in the world. I personally believe recycling has also influenced us in a negative way by tricking us into thinking that being wasteful is ok because we can make up for it, instead of figuring out ways to reduce consumption, we just find ways to maintain it.

Works Cited
Do the Benefits of Recycling Outweigh the Costs?. Earth Talk, n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <http://environment.about.com/od/recycling/a/benefit_vs_cost.htm>.

HANDLEY, ANDREW. 10 Ways recycling hurts the environment. N.p., Jan. 2013. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <http://listverse.com/2013/01/27/10-ways-recycling-hurts-the-environment/>.

Hutchinson, Alex. Recycling Myths: PM Debunks 5 Half Truths about Recycling Read more: Recycling Myths: PM Debunks 5 Half Truths about Recycling - Popular Mechanics Follow us: @PopMech on Twitter | popularmechanics o. N.p., 10 Nov. 2008. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/recycling/4290631>.

Lilley, Floy. Three myths about trash. N.p., 2 Dec. 2009. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <http://mises.org/daily/3887>.

25% Of Americans Dont Recycle. N.p., 28 Aug. 2007. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/08/28/25-of-americans-dont-recycle/>.