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Renata Zeknyte
Biology 1110
Prof. Rose
25 January 2011

In the article “Rethinking Recycling” J. Diconsiglio discusses a controversial topic—

recycling of household waste, such as plastic bags and bottles, Styrofoam cups, paper, cardboard

etc. He raises questions about the profits, and the costs of recycling. To be non-biased, the author

presents the opinions of both the advocates and critics of this process.

According to the article, there is a growing number of critics who believe that recycling is

not as beneficial to the environment as thought before. Experts state that the amount of

household garbage dumped into landfills is about 100 times less than industrial and

manufacturing waste, and that it does not cause a highly damaging effect to the Earth. Moreover,

they claim that recycling certain kinds of garbage, such as glass and plastic can cause more

damage than help our environment because these “recycling procedures actually emit a small

amount of chemicals in the air.” They also say that it does not make sense because the costs are

too high and that it is too time-consuming. Even though some states make profit from recycling,

others lose millions of dollars a year during the program.

However, as the author states, advocates argue that “recycling can [significantly] reduce

the amount of garbage and save the raw materials and energy that are used in making new

products.” Many of household materials can be reused, such as paper, cardboard, aluminum and

so on. Advocates also say that recycling is more about the environment and not money, for

example, recycling paper helps to save millions of trees and thus it slows down global warming.

States can earn back the money that they spent “by selling recyclables to industries that can reuse

them.”
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The author concludes with one advocate’s statement that even though there are bigger

environmental issues, recycling does make a difference. Even if it is not very significant, at least

it does not do any harm. It is worth every little bit to lessen that pile of trash sitting it the dump

or landfill.

This issue concerns and influences me as well. I am not really fascinated with the idea of

all that garbage polluting our soil. It also smells. I used to live not far from Waste Management

in Cicero, which was not a pleasant place to pass by, and plus, it occupied a vast space of land

there. Instead of just being dumped there, some of the trash could be reused more ecologically

and economically.

I truly believe that our government could do much more about household garbage

recycling. Special garbage containers (e.g. for plastic or glass) should be placed near by

apartments, alongside with regular ones. They should initiate more paper and cardboard cleanup

programs, the ones where garbage trucks come by people’s houses and collect the trash. As for

me, I do recycle some of the stuff; rarely use plastic silverware or plates, and reuse plastic

containers. I would also like to learn about more ways in conserving and protecting our

environment.
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Work Cited:

Diconsiglio, John. "Rethinking recycling." Scholastic Update 21 Mar. 1997: 10+. Academic

OneFile. Web. Coll. of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL. 25 Jan. 2011.