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The Recycling Controversy Essay example

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Are policies that force recycling necessary to reduce the effects of the global warming despite the high cost of recycling in comparison to the other methods of waste management? Recycling is a controversy that has become known due to the recent pressure caused by scientific evidence of global warming. At this point recycling is mainly seen as a positive because it has proven to improve our ecological footprint. However there is a negative to recycling, which has been mapped out and described in various articles: this has been viewed as the ‘myth’ of recycling. In this controversy there are two extremes; one feels policies are not necessary for recycling, the other feels policies are necessary to recycle. The gray area in the middle of …show more content…

In 2006 the “Cell Phone Recycling Act of 2004” and the “Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act” were put into effect which, “required retailers to take-back, at no cost to the consumer, to recycle or reuse old cell phones…[and] rechargeable batteries” (Article 2, paragraph 4 & 5). These policies are just in California, and do not have the magnitude to spread to the federal level yet. Even in our nation’s capital, In Washington D.C., “district officials will start enforcing new recycling laws, which require all D.C. residents, apartment buildings and companies to recycle their trash, or else face hefty fines” (Article 5, paragraph 1). These fines, which force the households and businesses to recycle, force these places to spend more money to adequately recycle materials, which disables them from spending it on other (possibly more important) things. If these places of business don’t recycling properly, “the first offense could cost the violator as much as $200. If further violations occur…charges of $600 and $1,500, respectively, will apply” (Article 5, paragraph 5). Policies such as the ones present in California and Washington D.C. give us the best example of what policies will do to our businesses and households if recycling policy became more federal law than state law. Are these policies necessary to slow the effects of global warming? Or are we just spending too much money? The two extreme sides of

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