Is it a waste?

This is the second most asked question I get, (right after ‘do you put everything back together again when you’re done?’*): ‘Isn’t it wasteful to take apart perfectly fine items, which are still in working order?’

It’s only a waste if the yield doesn’t outweigh the loss. The yield is tremendous, in terms of the joy Deconstruction brings me. And the loss is usually extremely low, considering the value our society apparently attributes to these second hand items.

Many of the things I deconstruct changed hands for less than ten euros. Some I get for free, simply because nobody wants them anymore -poor abandoned children, mercilessly tossed aside because their colour doesn’t match current design fads or because it’s cheaper to buy a new, similar product made by some poor Chinese slave than to have the broken part replaced by a skilled professional (a dying breed).
The most I’ve ever paid for an item is thirty euros, so far. Which I consider a pittance to catch a glimpse of the beautiful soul of an object.

*No.