HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
Writing a Persuasive Essay
Do Something Good for the Earth
INTRODUCTION
Attention-getter
Background
information
Garbage! It smells bad and looks disgusting. Most
people think about trash only when they take it out. People in
the United States should be thinking about garbage more,
however, because they throw away 40 percent of all the
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
garbage in the world. It may seem easy just to toss whatever we
have finished using in the dumpster, but our wasteful ways
have terrible consequences for our environment. The solution
Opinion statement
to this problem is recycling. Recycling is the best way to
preserve natural resources and to reduce the costs of processing
garbage.
BODY/Reason
1:
Emotional appeal
By recycling, we can prevent our country from being
buried in trash. Much of the garbage that is now tossed out
Evidence:
Statistics
could be recycled. Of the 200 million tons of garbage that
United States citizens produce yearly, about 42 percent is paper
(from trees), 8 percent is glass, 9 percent is metal (from ore, a
natural resource), 7 percent is plastic (from petroleum, a natural
resource), 8 percent is food waste, and 18 percent is yard
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
Writing a Persuasive Essay
waste. Government officials estimate that 60 percent of all this
trash could be recycled. Environmentalists suggest a much
higher figure—as much as 70 to 90 percent.
Reason 2: Logical
appeal
Recycling more of our garbage can also save precious
resources, such as trees, water, energy, and aluminum. My
Evidence:
Anecdote
grandfather says the thick forests that once surrounded my
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hometown have nearly vanished. By recycling newspapers, we
Evidence:
Example
can rescue trees from destruction. For example, recycling could
help save some of the fifty thousand trees that are sacrificed
every week to produce Sunday newspapers in the United
States. We can also save water and energy by recycling, as
Evidence: Case
studies
shown by government studies. Recycling paper instead of
making it from trees reduces the amount of water used to make
Evidence: Facts
and statistics
the paper by 60 percent and the amount of energy by 70
percent. Aluminum cans show the biggest saving from
recycling. To produce a can from recycled aluminum takes 95
percent less energy than from ore.
Reason 3: Ethical
appeal
Because garbage disposal has become a particularly
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
Writing a Persuasive Essay
thorny problem, recycling more can reduce the mountains of
garbage we produce—and reduce the financial and
environmental costs associated with all the landfills where the
garbage is dumped and with the incineration, or burning, of
garbage. Garbage does not just disappear after it is hauled
away. It usually goes into landfills—many of which have
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created toxic pollution problems and enormous cleanup costs.
Evidence: Facts
and statistic
Currently, 61 percent of municipal waste goes into landfills. In
the highly populated areas that generate the most garbage, the
land used for landfills will not be available for other use for a
long time because some garbage items do not break down
Evidence:
Example and Facts
easily. For example, under some conditions newspapers may
not break down for forty years. Also, because many plastics,
glass, and synthetic materials may take centuries to decompose,
the land used for landfills may never be returned to its original
state. When landfills close, they must be monitored for years.
Therefore, landfills are expensive.
Evidence: Facts
Landfills are also not safe. Although landfills are lined
with clay, plastic, or other materials to keep leachate (water
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
Writing a Persuasive Essay
contaminated by garbage) from leaking into the water supply,
many, if not all, landfills develop leaks, requiring expensive
Evidence: Case
study
cleanup operation. A study by researchers at Texas A & M
University has found that leachate from municipal landfills
contains toxic chemicals as harmful as those from industrial
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
waste landfills. Clearly landfills operate at huge cost—to the
economy and to the earth.
Reason 4: Logical
appeal
Recycling could reduce the air and water pollution
associated with another traditional method of garbage
Evidence: Statistic
disposal—incineration. In 2001, about seven percent of the
garbage in the United States was incinerated. At first thought,
incinerators might seem to be a more environmentally friendly
option than landfills. However, incinerators produce at least
210 different organic chemicals which are either released into
the air or remain in the ash, which is then dumped in landfills.
Evidence:
Examples
One of the most toxic of the chemicals is dioxin, present in the
smoke of the incinerated garbage and in the leachate from
landfills that contain incinerator ash. Other toxic byproducts of
garbage incineration include mercury and lead, both hazardous
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
Writing a Persuasive Essay
contaminants, and particulate matter that can lodge
permanently in a person’s lungs. Clearly, then, incineration of
our garbage is also very costly—not only to the environment
but to our health.
Counterclaim
addressed
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Evidence: Expert
opinion
People often object to recycling by saying that that it
costs too much. Brenda Platt of the Institute for Local SelfReliance says, “Studies have concluded that recycling costs
less than traditional trash collection and disposal when
communities achieve high levels of recycling." Therefore,
people should understand that recycling actually saves money
by reducing waste and by eliminating the costs that go along
with solid-waste disposal and landfill cleanup.
Evidence: Facts
and statistics
Recycling actually benefits the economy. Approximately
56,000 United States companies are involved in the
recycling/reuse industry. In 2001, these companies converted
millions of tons of recyclables into products worth at least $236
billion, creating new jobs and employing over 1.1 million
people in the process. Because of its success, the
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
Writing a Persuasive Essay
recycling/reuse industry seems likely to continue booming.
Moreover, the broader impact of the recycling/reuse industry
has produced 1.4 million jobs with $173 billion added to the
economy.
Counterclaim 2
addressed
Others object to recycling because they believe that
certain resources are being resupplied. For example, some
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believe that paper does not need to be recycled because more
trees are being planted to fill our need for paper than are being
Evidence: Facts
cut. However, this argument fails to take into account that the
high rate of cutting and replanting is turning natural forests into
tree plantations. This problem is especially severe in the South,
where the acreage of pine tree plantations will soon be greater
than the area of remaining natural pine forests. Tree plantations
provide poorer animal habitat and less biodiversity than natural
forests.
Counterclaim 3
addressed
Another objection to recycling is that it takes too much
personal time and trouble. Many cities, however have curbside
recycling programs that make it easy to do the right thing for
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
Writing a Persuasive Essay
Evidence: Facts
and statistics
the Earth. In 2001, there were 9,709 curbside recycling
programs in the United States, serving approximately 50
percent of the population. By keeping separate bins for
recyclables, a person may sort garbage before throwing it
away. Then, setting the bins out by the curb for pick up is easy.
Even many apartment buildings now have recycling facilities.
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As recycling becomes a regular part of life in the United States,
reasons not to recycle will become just excuses. Perhaps the
excuses not to recycle will even vanish.
Reason 5: Logical
appeal
We all can think of recycling as everyone’s opportunity.
Recycling materials can begin on a personal level with very
Evidence:
Examples
simple things. For example, yard and kitchen waste make up
about 10 percent of garbage in the United States. Composting
weeds, grass trimmings, dead leaves, and kitchen scraps
(excluding meat scraps) instead of sending them to the landfill
is easy. For those that live in an apartment, vermicomposting—
using earthworms to help recycle kitchen wastes—is an
acceptable option. For those who have room for a compost pile
or bin, adding water and air will create compost
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
Writing a Persuasive Essay
that then can be reused as fertilizers for lawns, gardens, or
houseplants. Wearable clothing and household items are some
of the easiest products to recycle to thrift stores. Thrift stores
then offer these items at a good value. Some shoppers find
unusual and one-of-a-kind items that have been recycled,
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giving rise to the old saying, “One person’s trash is another
person’s treasure!”
Reason 6:
Emotional appeal
All the economic and environmental reasons to recycle
are compelling, but an equally strong argument for recycling is
Evidence:
Example
based on a respect for the Earth and for all forms of life. Our
ancestors wasted nothing if possible. Because they struggled
for survival, they took nothing for granted, but valued animals,
Evidence: Expert
opinion
tools, and food sources as something precious. In this same
spirit President Theodore Roosevelt said in a 1907 speech to
Congress, “To waste, to destroy, our natural resources, to skin
and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its
usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our
children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand
down to them amplified and developed.” During World War II,
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
Writing a Persuasive Essay
recycling was a sign of intense patriotism for the efforts of
Evidence:
Commonly held
beliefs
those fighting for freedom overseas. Today, many of us do not
struggle as our ancestors did, but their heritage of recycling and
respect for the Earth is still valuable. When we waste
resources, we express an attitude of disrespect for the Earth.
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When we throw away useable items, we express disrespect for
the thousands of people who lack them. By showing respect for
our planet and all those who share it, we create a special
environment that fosters health, growth, and happiness of all
people.
CONCLUSION
Much of what is thrown away now can be recycled.
Restated opinion
Anyone who loves the earth can help make it a better place by
Summary of
reasons
recycling. Garbage makes our shared home, this planet, less
livable for the people of today and for the children of
tomorrow. People have caused this garbage crisis, and only
Call to action
people can solve it. Do you care enough to do your part by
recycling?
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