Secondhand Shopping/Salvaging

A lot of the books that I have used for RAB-PIA were used or presumably used (and likely will in the future, especially if I remain with Bookcrossing), and lately, I have acquired clothing at the thrift store where I work (and by "work" I mean volunteer) that would've otherwise had to be discarded. Among the items I had "rescued" from being discarded was a dress that I wore to church today and a couple of shirts that I'm wearing now. (I'm doing that whole short-sleeved shirt over long-sleeved shirt thing. Say what you will about it.) I'm also wearing a pair of black satin slippers that I bought at said store. I also have accepted the occasional hand-me-downs from my sister.

Although I have my personal limits to this, I have wondered lately if there is some sort of moral merit to buying/salvaging secondhand items that would otherwise be collecting dust somewhere or thrown away prematurely. 

When I was in college, as part of my general education requirements, I took a biology class called Environmental Life Science. On one of the "lab" days, we took a field trip to the local recycling center. Some of the items recycled there included pop cans, plastic bottles, and even clothing. At one point, the person conducting the tour said that there has been all this talk about how bad the [U.S.] economy is, but seeing how much people throw away has made him question just how bad the economy really is. Another class that I took was called Introduction to Technological Systems (another general ed. requirement). In that class, we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the Industrial Revolution. One of the disadvantages was the "throw away" mentality that it eventually led to. I hate to think how much otherwise perfectly good stuff might be sitting at the bottom of some landfill.

Now, I'm not saying that one should only buy secondhand items (especially if you don't have access to thrift stores, flea markets, etc., their hours don't line up with yours, and/or you can't find anything in such places that meets your particular needs). However, the reason that the items in the secondhand places are where they are is because they have become useless for one person but hopefully can become useful for another. The same is true for items that are handed down from, say, one sibling to the other. Hopefully, the second, third, or subsequent user will get as much use out of an item as possible until it no longer works, is used up, or worn out to the point where it is time for it to be discarded for good.   Maybe then, the landfill won't fill up as quickly.

So, the possible merits of secondhand shopping/salvaging for an accommodite are that 1) the item in question won't take up space on a shelf, rack, etc., and 2) the item won't end up in a landfill too soon. Also, if the money spent on these things is going to a good cause, so much the better.

The other thing to do is, if there is an item you absolutely cannot keep/use, pass it on to someone else. Not only will it slow down the landfill volume, but it'll give someone else who could use it a chance to do so.