Reuse/Recycling

If consumption is understood as a process of selecting, purchasing, using, maintaining, and disposing of goods and services, then it might be noted that consumption studies have been largely biased toward exploring the front end of consumption. Existing studies have generated a wealth of insights regarding the ways in which goods are acquired, appropriated, and appreciated, but it is also important to understand the ways in which goods are cast out, abandoned, and disposed of. Reuse and recycling are therefore instructive concepts for the study of consumer culture insofar as they represent two possible strategies for dealing with the discards and afterward of consumption. Understandings of reuse [Page 1224]and recycling are also useful insofar as they allow for consideration of the environmental impacts of consumption ...