You're wholly correct in that you only need sooo many pen holders for your life, but at the same time, that's 2-3 less items that end up being "misplaced" in the trash, and 2-3 items that don't require the special "processing" that most recycling firms offer!
The more we can "recycle" without corporate interference, the better it is for us, in that if everyone saved that 2-3 coffee mugs, (which might be the only 2-3 coffee mugs they throw away in their life, if they're like my dad...
) and found another use for them, that would be between 800 million and 1.2 billion Coffee mugs (per generation, in America, with 400 million people tossing out 2-3 mugs) that didn't end up having to be "processed" before they could be reused as a filler for some aggregate company.
Sadly, most people just figure that recycling through the local firm is enough to appease some higher eco-force, so that they won't be bothered in daily life to actually think of ways to help the environment on their own. It's become another autonomic response to something that could otherwise be considered a "hassle" to daily life.
Some of us, like (seemingly) everyone that has or will post in this thread, already DO reuse a lot of things in our lives, maybe without even realizing it! There are times when something becomes so commonplace to us, that we just "let it go" as though it's not a big deal, even though it really is!
By the way, thanks for that link, I've bookmarked it, and will research it later.