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Does recycling work?
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Plastic can’t be recycled

Some items can’t be recycled. Plastic is one of them. Unfortunately, people don’t seem to understand that.

The Argument

Plastic can’t be recycled. Plastic straws, plastic cups, and plastic bags can never be recycled.[1] Even if it’s melted down, its components are still harming the environment. Plus, even if they could be recycled, there isn’t a high demand in the market for it.[2] Since plastic is such a huge part of human waste, recycling is useless when such a prominent material cannot be recycled.

Counter arguments

Some plastic can be reused. Plastics are labeled to define what chemicals make them up and show whether they can be recycled,[2] such as those labeled PETE.[3]. There are also some more inventive uses of plastic that can't be recycled - it can and has been made into art. It can be cleaned out and used again, depending on what the product is. To claim it can’t be recycled isn’t true.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Plastic can’t be recycled and its components don’t disintegrate well. [P2] Plastics aren’t in high demand to be recycled. [P3] Therefore, recycling as a whole is futile.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Plastic components can disintegrate and be disposed of or reused properly.

References

  1. https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2018/04/04/7-things-you-didnt-know-about-plastic-and-recycling/
  2. https://www.bettermeetsreality.com/reasons-why-some-plastic-cant-be-recycled/
  3. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-recycle-basics_n_578d7e8ce4b0c53d5cfab03d
This page was last edited on Tuesday, 17 Mar 2020 at 11:55 UTC

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