On our consumerism culture and recycling...

I was reading the article in Wall Street Journal about how the Germans love scavenging, and how much "threat" they have been to retailers.

It completely baffles me. I always believe that recycling and making good use of someone's throwaway stuffs is a good thing. One man's trash is another man's treasure. So, I say, three cheers to the Germans and their "tradition."

But now, there is saying that this innocuous habit is threating retailers, since people don't buy (and thus spend), and simply scavenge through trash for things that you like/want.

Why not re-use rather than keep consuming resources from mother Earth?! In fact, that's my main reason why I like eBay so much, so it encourages that habit. If someone doesn't want it, eBay gives them a reason to give/sell it back into the "system," rather than the landfill. Why do we have to keep buying stuffs and contributing to the mountainous landfill?!