The economics of a throw away culture.

The thread about some peoples reluctance to throw away unused books got me to thinking. It seems clear to me (as someone who has thrown away my share of unused books) that often the garbage or recycling bin is often the appropriate place for old books.

For books, this has changed. When books had to be copied by hand over months or years by a scribe, they cost a years wage and was treasured as such. I imagine that the thought of disposing of one of these masterpieces would be obscene.

But now you can buy pretty much any book for about an hour at minimum wage. After I read them, they sit around for while until I have to move, then I pack them into boxes until I realize I don't feel like lugging them around, I pick out the 20 or so that I care about and throw away the rest. Anyone who has tried to give away old books knows how hard it is to dispose of the things.

But it isn't just books. I don't mend my clothes like people use to. I throw them away. The computer I spent $6000 for in the 1990's was a worthless piece of junk that I hung on to far to long. And of course I get a new cell phone every two years.

The strange thing is that given our current level of technology, and our current economy, this all makes sense. Our manufacturing costs are lower than ever. Our bulk shipping costs are almost nothing, and the things we use to live, from clothing to technology, are almost mass produced commodities.

Reusing, or recycling or sending to a new home is counter-intuitively more expensive than throwing away the old when it is time for something new.

Anything other than disposing of the things we no longer use would be wasteful.