Recycling is Bad?

[steve philion]

I always say I learn the most about capitalism from workers. Today, minding
my own business, my friendly ups deliveryman had a lesson for me. i open the
door and there is my long awaited gift from younger brother, a stroller/baby
carrier (a la backpack) all in one. he said to me after i signed for it,
'boy, that sure is a light one'. i said, 'well, it's made to be a backpack,
a little different from the strollers you're accustomed to delivering'. he
says, 'oh, that makes sense. geez, those baby strollers, i return so many of
them to the company and they just get rid of them!'
I asked, 'get rid of them?' he said, 'yup, recycled'. i said, you mean like
used for other goods?' he replied, 'nope, they just throw them away, or some
of them might end up recycled that way too'. he says to me, 'i don't see why
they don't resell them'. i said, 'well, if they resell used ones, that will
cut down on their profits from new ones, they obviously only want to sell
new ones, since that is where the big bucks are. better to get rid of the
used ones that people return in perfect condition after 9 months before the
warranty expires! they don't want to encourage the growth of a market in
used strollers!

steve