Do you feel sad when you see furniture, or children's toys getting crushed in the back of a garbage truck?

Question

When you see perfectly good items sitting by the curb waitng to be thrown in the truck and mashed with the disgusting garbage, do you ever feel like saving those items? Or do you just watch them getting crushed?

Answer 1

Not really, we live in a throw away society. We throw away things that are no longer of use to us, because they are broken, dirty, dangerous or obselete.

Sometimes dumpster diving can be fruitful though, so it isnt all bad.

Answer 2

That's ok.......it's the beer cans, used needles and bongs that irk me.

Answer 3

Re: furniture, I'm actually something of a snob - when it's tacky particle-board furniture I wonder why someone bought it in the first place.     I mean, you could argue "that's all they could afford" but that's obviously a flawed argument since the furniture ended up in the trash, which means the owners bought a whole new set of furniture and got nothing for the cheap furniture.   You can buy nice stuff from Crate & Barrel or West Elm for maybe twice as much as the cheap stuff, but it lasts and isn't embarrassing to look at, and you don't have to replace it.    I buy antiques - I'll never replace them.  

It's really not a matter of "what you can afford."  After my divorce, I slept on a mattress and box spring and used cardboard boxes until I could afford antiques.   I scoped out the antique shops and waited until someone lost his lease and had to move his shop - it was cheaper for him to unload the furniture at a deep discount than to move it and risk damaging it.   I got a further discount for buying many pieces at the same time.    

People who buy the particle board can afford the particle board.   It's maybe half the price of Crate and Barrel.    So, however long you saved up to buy the particle board, save up for twice as long - - - instead of 4 months, 8.    Even Ikea, if you're going for the mid-century look, would be only 50% more than the particle board, and be stylish, especially in a high rise, ranch or split level.    Or save up for a few years and buy antiques.     In the long run, I'll spend less money on furniture than the people who bought the particle board because I'll be using the same furniture when I'm in my 80s - in fact the furniture will probably last longer than I will.

So I guess we get to the same place - we both see it as a waste, but I consider the original purchase as a waste.