Analyze the arguments that are presented in each of these articles.

In your response, develop an argument in which you explain how one position is better-supported than the other. Incorporate relevant evidence from both articles to support your argument.

Remember, the better-argued position is not necessarily the position with which you agree. This essay should take 45 minutes to complete.

Please Recycle!
by Alexandra Alesi

Recycling is an important tool for protecting the environment. Climate change is a growing threat, and recycling reduces harmful emissions in meaningful ways: conserving natural resources, preventing pollution, and saving energy.

At first glance, recycling may seem simple—just repurposing garbage into new goods. But manufacturing new products requires harvesting raw materials, transporting them, and running factories, all of which create pollution and consume energy. Recycling eliminates many of these steps. Why cut down forests when we can recycle paper?

Experts note that recycling can be done at both the household and industrial level. Even small choices, like reducing unnecessary trips, can conserve energy. Statistics show its benefits clearly: every ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees; recycling aluminum takes 95% less energy than producing it from raw materials; and a national recycling rate of 30% cuts greenhouse gas emissions as much as removing 25 million cars from the road.

Recycling may not solve every environmental problem, but its contributions are substantial. It is the morally sound thing to do to protect our planet for future generations.

The Recycling Racket
by Jenni Sadler

Recycling is often praised as a simple step to save the world, but this is a foolish presumption. In many cases, it is an expensive and inefficient process that distracts from more serious environmental issues.

The main problem is cost. Recycling requires fleets of trucks and specialized processing centers, which often cost more than making new products. Many communities must charge extra fees for recycling pickup. And the process itself creates emissions: plastics, glass, and metals must go through energy-intensive treatments before reuse. In fact, recycling can consume three times more resources than simply using landfills.

Some claims about saving resources are misleading. For example, many trees are grown specifically to produce paper, so recycling newspapers doesn’t necessarily “save” forests. De-inking paper also creates chemical sludge. And glass, often touted as worth recycling, is made from sand—one of Earth’s most abundant materials.

Finally, the supposed landfill crisis is overstated. Research suggests that all of America’s trash for the next 100 years could fit into a site 255 feet deep and 10 miles wide. Calling landfills a national emergency is, quite simply, absurd. Meanwhile, most pollution comes from industry and agriculture, not household trash. By focusing too much on recycling, we risk ignoring far larger environmental problems.