The following appeared in a letter to the editor of the Walnut Grove town newspaper.

“Walnut Grove’s town council has advocated switching from EZ Disposal (which has had the contract for trash collection services in Walnut Grove for the past ten years) to ABC Waste, because EZ recently raised its monthly fee from $2,000 to $2,500 a month, whereas ABC’s fee is still $2,000. But the town council is mistaken; we should continue using EZ. EZ collects trash twice a week, while ABC collects only once. Moreover, EZ – which, like ABC, currently has a fleet of 20 trucks – has ordered additional trucks. Finally, EZ provides exceptional service: 80 percent of respondents to last year’s town survey agreed that they were ‘satisfied’ with EZ’s performance.”

The author of the letter has recommended that Walnut Grove should continue to utilize the services of EZ Disposal, which has been providing trash collection services in Walnut Grove for the past ten years. This recommendation contradicts the town council’s decision to switch over to ABC Waste, which charges a monthly fee that is $500 less than that of EZ Disposal. The arguer has presented three facts as evidence for justifying his claim. The first is that EZ Disposal collects trash twice a week whereas ABC Waste collects trash only once a week. The second fact is that EZ Disposal and ABC Waste both have 20 trucks each, but EZ Disposal had ordered for additional trucks. The third fact is more of an assumption and it states that EZ provided exceptional services. The arguer has based this assumption on the results of a recent town survey wherein 80 percent of the respondents had admitted to being satisfied with the services of EZ disposal. Despite the facts and assumptions presented by the arguer, the available evidence lends little credible support to the argument.

Firstly, the fact that EZ Disposal collects trash twice a week renders no support to the argument, as there is no mention of the benefits of collection of trash twice a week. In all probability, it makes no difference to the town’s residents whether the trash is collected once a week or twice a week. Therefore, paying an additional amount of $500 just because the trash is being collected twice a week fails to lend any support to the argument. The argument could have been strengthened if the arguer had provided concrete evidence which proved that the town is in need of trash collection services twice a week.

Secondly, the fact that EZ Disposal has ordered more trucks probably has got nothing to do with trash collection in Walnut Grove. There is no mention of the other services rendered by EZ Disposal. It is likely that EZ Disposal plans to use the additional trucks elsewhere. Additionally, the argument does not mention that the town’s trash disposal process is facing problems due to an inadequate number of trucks available for trash disposal. Moreover, there is no indication of the time frame within which the trucks will be available. It is likely that they may not be arriving in the near future. Therefore, the contention that the availability of additional trucks with EZ Disposal qualifies as a justified reason for continuing to avail the services of EZ Disposal is highly unconvincing.

Thirdly, even if 80 percent of the respondents to the survey admitted to being satisfied with the services of EZ disposal, it does not prove that they are not willing to try out the services of some other trash disposal company. It is likely that quality of the services of ABC Waste exceed that of EZ Disposal. Moreover, the argument fails to prove that these 80 percent of the respondents represent the entire population of the town. Therefore, the findings of the survey do not support the recommendation made in any way whatsoever.

The arguer could have reinforced his contention by providing additional information that proved that the quality of the services of EZ Disposal are much superior to those of ABC Waste and this could have justified the additional $500 in the charges of EZ Disposal. Additionally, the reader needs to be convinced that collection of trash twice a week is an absolute necessity and the additional trucks being procured by EZ Disposal will be used for trash collection of Walnut Grove. In view of the above, the recommendation that the town council should not switch over to ABC Waste is neither well supported nor does it sound convincing to the reader.