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Difficulty: EasyPassage Assumptions and Underlying Premises

Read the following passage carefully:

"To address the expanding problem of urban organic waste filling city landfills, several municipal bodies have initiated decentralized composting schemes across residential neighborhoods. Under this policy, localized micro-processing units treat wet household waste at the ward level instead of hauling all municipal solid waste to distant peripheral dumping grounds. Local administrators claim that this strategy will significantly lower municipal transport costs, minimize greenhouse gas emissions from decomposing heaps in mega-landfills, and extend the functional lifespan of existing landfill infrastructure. However, for decentralized composting to achieve these environmental and budgetary targets, local residents must consistently segregate their household waste at source into organic and non-organic fractions prior to collection. Without clean, uncontaminated organic input, ward-level micro-processing units suffer frequent operational breakdowns and fail to produce viable compost, forcing municipalities to revert to conventional bulk dumping."

Which one of the following is the most crucial assumption on which the author's conclusion regarding the success of decentralized composting schemes depends?

  1. A
    Decentralized micro-processing facilities produce lower greenhouse gas emissions per ton of waste than centralized mega-landfills.
  2. Residential communities can be mobilized to achieve and maintain adequate levels of household waste segregation at source.Answer
  3. C
    Constructing large-scale waste-to-energy incineration plants is financially unsustainable for small municipal corporations.
  4. D
    Municipalities will completely eliminate the need for peripheral landfills once ward-level composting units become operational.

Answer

Residential communities can be mobilized to achieve and maintain adequate levels of household waste segregation at source.
The author argues that decentralized composting will reduce transport costs and landfill burden, but explicitly notes that ward-level units break down without clean, source-segregated organic waste. For the policy to succeed as concluded, the author must implicitly assume that residential communities can successfully perform and sustain household source segregation.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the author's main conclusion
Decentralized composting schemes will successfully lower municipal transport costs, reduce landfill emissions, and extend landfill lifespan.
Understanding the target claim is essential before evaluating missing premises.
2
Identify key conditional premises provided in the passage
The passage establishes that micro-processing units fail and revert to bulk dumping unless clean, segregated organic input is provided by residents.
Assumptions connect the core premises to the overall conclusion.
3
Apply the Negation Test to identify the indispensable assumption
If we negate the statement that residents can achieve and maintain source segregation, the micro-processing units fail, destroying the conclusion that transport costs and emissions will be reduced.
An assumption must be logically necessary; its negation invalidates the main argument.

Key Concept

Identifying Necessary Premises and Applying Negation in Passage Arguments
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Passage Assumptions and Underlying Premises

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