Toulmin Paper

Jeremy M. Stevens
Dr, Patricia Ross
English 102
01 July 2014
Should Recycling be Mandatory?

Should recycling be enforced in America? Why is recycling something that is not enforced for our nation? Enforcing all Americans to recycle would save us energy, money, resources and the environment for our generations to come. We as Americans have become lazy when it comes to our renewable resources. With recycling being enforced by the government, it would force our nation to stop being lazy and give back to our society. Recycling can save the United States vast amount of energy in more than one way. When we do not recycle our goods, they go to landfills. To operate the landfills, it takes a large number of personnel and equipment to keep the operations flowing in a productive manner. It takes vast amounts of expensive fuels to run the proper machinery which is a viable energy source that can be used in other places. The workers also burn energy to operate the equipment and run the landfills. Another way to save energy is when they recycle wood and create particle board and a bio mass for fuel. The wood is already used but is a renewable resource that has many uses. Kim and Song explain “the wood that has been transformed in to bio mass can be used as fire wood to heat a house. The results for both recycling systems showed that the particleboard from wood wastes produces −428 kg CO2-eq compared to particleboard from fresh woods, and the energy production using wood wastes is −154 kg CO2-eq compared to that of the combined heat and power generation process” (Kim, Song 203). When aluminum cans are recycled, it takes 95 percent less energy to produce new cans from the aluminum ore. Regardless of what you are recycling, it takes less energy to reuse the material than to reproduce from the ground up. Recycling can also save the nation and the consumer money. The first noticeable thing shoppers can see is when you buy a recycled product are priced lower than non-recycled products. This in turn saves the consumer much need money. In “Waste Plastic Generate Money”, they note that “plastics are an excellent source of energy in waste to energy incinerator, which are well established in some cities” (Popular Plastics and Packaging 68). This energy source is extremely cheaper than using fossil fuels and petroleum based fuels. This saves the companies and cities money to the point that many companies are mining landfills. In Chicago they are broke down to 50 wards for garbage. They are currently breaking down seven wards further into “Garbage Grids.” These garbage grids will turn into recycling centers for the community. Jonson explains that the city of Chicago quoted “we’re looking at somewhere around $25 million to $30 million savings when we get this done” (Johnson 1), Another benefit of recycling is the reuse of our resources. Lithium batteries are a growing product being consumed across our nation and even the world. Dewulf notes that “it is for example estimated that battery applications account for nearly 25% of the worldwide cobalt demand in 2007” (Dewulf 23). When we recycle these batteries, they can reuse the lithium and we are not destroying and overusing our natural resources. Paper recycling is probably the best known source of recycling for many Americans. Hubbe notes that “recovered fiber accounted for almost 60% of the worldwide manufacture of paper and paperboard in 2010” (Hubbe 1828). “Recycling 1 ton of paper saves an average of 7,000 gallons of water; 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space; 3 barrels of oil; 17 trees; and 4,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity” (1829). When we recycle the paper it saves our tress and forests. Trees are a renewable resource, but they take time to grow.
The environment is one of the most important subjects that we can save with recycling. Recycling can and will reduce the amount of trash in a landfill. When there is so much trash in a landfill, it can go into my next point, recycling can reduce pollution and contamination of our lands. Many things that are just discarded are toxic to our natural resources. They pollute the soil, the water, and the air. Recycling can greatly reduce these hazards. As I noted recycling can save our trees as well. Trees provide us with many resources and everyday objects. The most important thing trees provide us is oxygen. In hospitals all across the United States, there has been a recycling program put in place for non-biohazard materials. Generally they used to take all of the rubbish and incinerate it, greatly pollution our air. With these step, “recycling decreases greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted from waste disposal (Riedel S10). Recycling can also cost money. In “Recycling Programs in Alaska” Sommers explains that "recycling tends to be volume based, so smaller communities are more challenged to make it cost effective" (Sommer 2). The more you have to recycle the more cost efficient it will become and the more money you will save. Recycling saves resources, but all results are not good. The more you recycle paper, the less quality you will get. Hubbe explains that there is a “declining quality of low-cost used paper supplies and intensified competition” (1829). With recycling being more efficient in larger communities, there are some options for smaller communities. Smaller communities can piggyback of off the larger cities in the area and build a joint program to reduce cost. The quality of recycled products are not always lower than virgin made products. Maldonado notes that “development of a system for evaluating a specific quality characteristic of recycled paper sheets using techniques of image analysis and pattern recognition” (Maldonado 8809) is being used to ensure full quality in recycled paper. In conclusion recycling being mandatory in the United States only makes sense. It is essential for saving energy, money, resources and the most important, our environment. It takes money to make money and establish recycling plants and programs. In the long run, it will pay us back. Recycling saves our resources so that we do not over use them and waste them for our future generations to come.

Work Cited
1. Kim, Mi Hyung, and Han Byul Song. "Analysis Of The Global Warming Potential For Wood Waste Recycling Systems." Journal Of Cleaner Production 69.(2014): 199-207. Business Source Complete. Web. 1 July 2014.
2. "Waste Plastics Generates Money." Popular Plastics & Packaging 58.4 (2013): 68-69. Business Source Complete. Web. 2 July 2014.
3. Sommer, Susan. "Recycling Programs In Alaska." Alaska Business Monthly 29.8 (2013): 78-80. Business Source Complete. Web. 25 June 2014.
4. Johnson, Jim. "Chicago To Save Money On Collection, Expand Recycling." Waste & Recycling News 18.7 (2012): 0003. Business Source Complete. Web. 3 July 2014.
5. Dewulf, Jo, et al. "Recycling Rechargeable Lithium Ion Batteries: Critical Analysis Of Natural Resource Savings." Resources, Conservation & Recycling 54.4 (2010): 229-234. Environment Complete. Web. 3 July 2014.
6. Hubbe, Martin A. "Recycling Paper Recycling." Bioresources 9.2 (2014): 1828-1829. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 July 2014
7. Riedel, Lisa M. "Environmental And Financial Impact Of A Hospital Recycling Program." AANA Journal 79.4 (2011): S8-S14. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 July 2014
8. Maldonado, Jose Orlando1, and Manuel, http://www.ehu.es/ccwintco Graña. "Recycled Paper Visual Indexing For Quality Control." Expert Systems With Applications 36.5 (2009): 8807-8815. Applied Science & Technology Source. Web. 6 July 2014.