It’s often said that people don’t recycle enough — especially here in Mount Airy — but I must take offense with that notion.

In fact, we have just completed a recycling project of major proportions, and probably didn’t even realize that we did so. Because of this, those of us who’ve never even thought about setting aside the first aluminum can or stack of newspapers to take to the recycling center can still feel good, full of a sense of accomplishment.

This mammoth recycling effort began nationwide the day after Thanksgiving, on the so-called “Black Friday,” which is considered the biggest shopping day of the year. As you might recall from newspaper and television coverage of this annual ritual, hordes of people descended upon stores across the country for early morning sales, in many cases lining up outside in the cold for hours in advance for anticipated bargains.

A worker at a Long Island, N.Y., Wal-Mart was actually trampled to death in a rush of thousands of shoppers. Video showed as many as a dozen people knocked to the floor in a stampede of customers trying to enter the store to take advantage of sale prices.

Yet such chaos did not deter us — not by a long shot.

This accumulation of items continued throughout the Christmas shopping season, naturally peaking in the last few days before the holiday when throngs of shoppers again were the norm for retailers around the nation.

One would think that would have been the end of the process, because after all, the acquisition of goods for ourselves and loved ones surely must have been accomplished in the late-November-to-Dec. 24 period, right?

Wrong! Remember, we are talking about recycling here. Recycling operates under a simple principle: You accumulate stuff, keep it for a while and then get rid of it — hence the “cycle” part of the equation.

But do not fear, we were able to fulfill the getting-rid-of stage well enough, thank you very much. That’s because on the day after Christmas, millions of people — as if blindly guided by some unseen force — marched en masse to the stores again.

Though many supposedly showed up to take advantage of year-end bargains (there always seems to be some excuse for a big sale, doesn’t there?), many came back to return items they had torn the wrapping paper off only one day before. A number of stores again opened early, to accommodate those standing in long lines for refunds.

Now, of course, I would like to think that most people were satisfied with their holiday gifts, especially useful ones they received such as clothing. I also would hope that stores were still able to have a highly profitable season when the returns were deducted from total sales.

But by all estimations, many consumers did come out simply to bring back unwanted presents. The National Retail Federation pointed out that people in this situation had an easier chance of getting a desired refund in 2008 due to half of all U.S. stores loosening their return policies.

And I would venture to say that a percentage of items NOT returned already eventually will find their way to garage or yard sales. Of course, money earned from those sales will be used for what? For going out and obtaining more items, naturally.

I am reminded of some immortal words of the late great comedian, George Carlin, who did a routine about how people have an infatuation for accumulating “stuff.”

“If you didn’t have so much stuff, you wouldn’t need a house,” Carlin said. “You could just walk around all the time. A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it — you can see that when you’re taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody’s got a little pile of stuff.”

Carlin went on, “That’s what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get . . . more stuff! Sometimes you gotta move, gotta get a bigger house. Why? No room for your stuff anymore.”

So I ask you, what is this giant recycling effort all about?

After seeking the answer from a team of eminent international scientists and sociologists, I was able to establish this theory: It’s not the actual acquisition of items that is the primary goal when we hit the stores, but the experience of shopping itself.

The same might be true of hunting and fishing, where the thrill of the “chase” is sometimes more gratifying than the actual acquiring of game. How else do you explain the catch-and-release policy?

Devoting so much time to shopping is hard for me, and many other males, to understand, however, because when I visit a store, it’s conducted as a military mission would be, complete with maps, synchronization of watches — the whole nine yards. I go in, secure the objective and get out again, hopefully with no casualties on either side.

On the other hand, buying one clothing item can somehow be stretched into a day-long excursion by some female friends I know — not that this is a strictly female condition.

Unfortunately, George Carlin was not able to enjoy Christmas 2008. But wherever he is, I’ll bet he has a big smile on his face over everything that’s happened.

Tom Joyce is a staff reporter for The Mount Airy News. He can be reached at tjoyce@mtairynews.com.