Recycling

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Recycling

by apoorva.rattan » Mon Jan 07, 2013 6:59 pm
Since City X reduced the frequency with which its service vehicles pick up recyclable materials from residences to transport to its recycling center, the volume of material that its service vehicles transport to landfills for permanent disposal has increased to unmanageable levels. However, the city cannot increase the frequency of either its trash pickup or its recycling pickup at city residences.
Based only on the information above, which of the following strategies seems most appropriate for City X in the interest of reducing the volume of material that the city's service vehicles transport to landfills ?
(A) Provide larger recycling containers to residents of the city.
(B) Establish a community program to increase awareness of the benefits of recycling.
(C) Establish additional recycling centers as a near as possible to the city's residential areas.
(D) Provide incentives to the city's residents to reuse, rather than discard for pick up by the city's service vehicles, whatever they can.
(E) Ease restrictions on the types of materials the city's service vehicles will pick up for transport to its recycling centers.

OA : D

I found the answer choices to be too close. I was confused between picking A or C. Clearly, my answer choices were wrong, when compared to the OA. I would like to hear answers from others - preferably some Experts, with an explanation for eliminating a particular answer choice.

Source: Master the GMAT 2013, Peterson Publishing
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by The Iceman » Mon Jan 07, 2013 8:50 pm
apoorva.rattan wrote:I found the answer choices to be too close. I was confused between picking A or C. Clearly, my answer choices were wrong, when compared to the OA. I would like to hear answers from others - preferably some Experts, with an explanation for eliminating a particular answer choice.

Source: Master the GMAT 2013, Peterson Publishing
We need to find a strategy for reducing the volume of material that the city's service vehicles transport to landfills

Why is the volume increasing?

Let's say in City X the total volume of trash or recyclables is 100 cubic units

If frequency of pick up and transport is high. Let's say it is 20 times. The trucks pick up 5 cubic units of trash each time.

If frequency of pick up and transport is reduced to a lower value. Let's say it is 10 times. The trucks have to pick up 10 cubic units of trash each time.

Clearly if the goal is to reduce the volume (per pick up and transport) without increasing the frequency, then the total volume of trash or recyclables to be collected must be reduced. This is what D proposes.

I hope this helps :)

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by lunarpower » Sat Jan 12, 2013 10:55 pm
the most important element here, as usual, is to identify the key issue in the argument.

in this particular example, the prompt question points out -- much more explicitly than it normally will -- exactly what that issue is:
reducing the volume of material that the city's service vehicles transport to landfills

... so, there you have it.
the issue is NOT decreasing the number of pickups.
the issue is NOT increasing the efficiency or convenience of the pickups.
the only issue is what's actually raised in the question -- What will lower the amount of trash?
(A) Provide larger recycling containers to residents of the city.
this step might increase the efficiency of pickups (by allowing each pickup to take away more material), but it won't reduce the amount of trash.
(C) Establish additional recycling centers as a near as possible to the city's residential areas.
this step might make the transportation after pickup more convenient, but it won't reduce the amount of trash.
(this choice could affect the issue if residents would suddenly start hauling their own recyclables to the local recycling center, but there's no reason to believe that will happen.)
(D) Provide incentives to the city's residents to reuse, rather than discard for pick up by the city's service vehicles, whatever they can.
this step would directly reduce the amount of trash that the service vehicles must pick up. (they're really trying to help you out here -- they even spelled out the fact that we're talking about trash that would otherwise have to be picked up by the service vehicles!)
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