Also, now that I have skimmed the thread.
I'll add this somewhat related note.
I used to work for a junk removal company. I would regularly take things off jobs and sell them. I made about $2500 (and still going) just selling about 2-3% of all the things I threw into the dump as part of my employment.
My stoner co-workers laughed at me, "you're never going to be able to sell that" they'd tell me. I doubled my paychecks some weeks. I no longer work there, but I KNOW that they throw tons and tons of cash down the tubes daily. There is big money in trash.
BTW, the 18.5" LCD flat panel in front of me: "trash" from office clearout.
The computer I'm building (IBM ThinkCentre, 3 GHz, + 80GB HD, + DVD burner, Win XP, 1 GB RAM, maybe upgrade sound card) will be a combo of two "trash" computers I got on the job. And the Linksys wireless router to go with it, trash.
Not to mention my bedside table (2), a futon, an air mattress, some of those fancy Elfa (Metro) shelving units, a nice wall organizer, a nice tv, a nice coffee table, all my kitchen utensils...a Canon printer that is $500 new...the leather ottoman I'm sitting on...and a bunch more was all stuff I got for a grand total of $0.
"Trash."