I'd be more willing to agree with that line of reasoning if generating the wasted items wasn't consuming scarce resources in the first place (fresh water and ga

I'd be more willing to agree with that line of reasoning if generating the wasted items wasn't consuming scarce resources in the first place (fresh water and gasoline/diesel in particular). Putting pressure on the demand for water and fuel just to keep more people's time occupied seems like a bad idea to me.