Most disposable plastic containers are

Answer choices

1. A

   No Impact2% picked this

   The cost of collecting, sorting, and recycling discarded plastics is currently higher than the cost of manufacturing new

   The relative cost of recycling versus new manufacturing doesn't tell us whether avoiding high-numbered plastics can significantly reduce unrecycled waste.

   2%
2. B

   No Impact17% picked this

   Many consumers are unaware of the codes that are stamped on

   While consumer awareness of the codes could impact behavior, this doesn't give us a way to say that "if we refused to buy products with high codes, it wouldn't significantly reduce our unrecycled waste." We have to play along with the Plan and argue that it would fail to achieve the Goal. We can't argue "it's impossible to do the plan because many consumers are currently unaware of the codes".

   17%
3. C

   Correct67% picked this

   A plastic container almost always has a higher code number after it is recycled than it had before recycling because the recycling process causes

   Why this is right

   This is saying that every time you recycle something, the resulting new product has a higher numbered code. If consumers aren't willing to buy a produce with a code 6 on it, then companies will stop recycling products with a code 5. Thus all that plastic with code 5 on it would become waste. We have to be willing to buy products made from highly recycled material in order to incentivize recycling.

   Skill tested: Weaken · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   67%
4. D

   No Impact7% picked this

   Products packaged in plastics with the lowest code numbers are often more expensive than those packaged

   The relative expense of lower-numbered plastics doesn't directly impact the argument that avoiding higher-numbered plastics reduces waste. We have to play along with the Plan (we DO refuse to buy the higher code products) and argue it will fail to achieve the goal of significantly reducing waste.

   7%
5. E

   No Impact7% picked this

   Communities that collect all discarded plastic containers for potential recycling later dump in landfills plastics with higher-numbered codes only when it is clear

   If anything, this helps the author to say, "See? The higher-numbered codes eventually end up in a landfills because no one will recycle them. We should refuse to buy those." This doesn't give us a way to say that refusing to buy these high-coded products would fail to reduce waste.

   7%