Is it poor style to say the following?
A lot of things we take for granted as trash, such as newspapers, magazines, old computers and cellphones, can actually be recycled in one way or another.
Aren't we supposed to say the following?
We take it for granted that a lot of things are trash, such as newspapers, magazines, old computers and cellphones, but actually they can be recycled in one way or another.
In authoritative dictionaries (both print and online), I can only find "take something for granted" or "take it for granted that" (if the object is too long).
Best Answer
You are correct - the first example is grammatically incorrect. But regardless of the grammar, I don't find "take for granted" to be a suitable phrase in this context at all. It is not just a substitute for the word 'assume'.
The saying to 'take something for granted' has a few different applications, but the primary meaning is to assume that something is a 'given', perhaps to assume that something will always be there without any thought or effort. I think this quote is implying is to not give something the proper thought. But what your quote seems to be saying is that people think certain things are trash. What you are actually trying to say is that they haven't considered the alternative, which is recycling.
I would have said: