The article talks about, but seems to conflate, what I see as two different problems. One problem is that retail outlets destroy and throw out unsold inventory; the other is that individuals throw out unwanted, post-used goods. The latter of these problems seems like it could be much more manageable, but if we lump it together with the former, we risk minimizing some solutions.

I've gotten the lion's share of my furniture either from individuals or from Craigslist. Right now, I'm sitting in my kitchen eating lunch, on chairs that I did buy new, and looking around: my "decor" are plants, empty espresso roast cans, mason jars salvaged from sauces, and empty craft beer cans from various local breweries (we're lucky to have three or four per town, and they all have super-creative labels). This is after just getting home in a used luxury car, earlier today having woken up to a 70s Realistic clock radio, typing this post on an off-lease (but rock solid) ThinkPad, and so on.

The picture I'm trying to paint there will differ depending on your own attitudes towards the "waste" stream. Most people around me have commented positively on it - the furniture is "nice", from old-money brownstones in downtown; the beer can collection is a great conversation starter. But of course, there are still some (and luckily, seemingly, a minority) who can only see it as trash, a sign that I've "opted out" of basic economics, or at worst, that I just don't care enough about my appearance.