Your second example is a fallacy of circumstance. The virtues of recycling should be examined on their own merits, not based on how well an individual adheres t

Your second example is a fallacy of circumstance. The virtues of recycling should be examined on their own merits, not based on how well an individual adheres to them. I can provide empirical, qualitative reasons why recycling saves energy. Does the fact that I chucked a glass bottle into a trash can invalidate these reasons? No, it just makes me a hypocrite. It calls my character into question, but my facts stand apart from that. Thus, it is still an ad-hominem argument.