Recently Ive gotten a few really great deals on devices that (I could see from their condition) used recycled parts. I am starting to think they have a place in the market.
I think vendors should disclose the fact to buyers they are there, also they should never be used in any kind of critical part..
As long as its 100% clear that a device uses them, if its also cheaper, and not a critical part whose failure would cause injury or a business stoppage, or similar, I am okay with it, if it can be done safely. (which currently its NOT!)
There should be some means of showing that a product uses them, so that people don't buy a device thinking it has new parts when they are used.
But, for example, recently I got two DS3231 RCs for my Raspberry Pis. Turns out it seems that they were genuine, recycled parts. Total cost for the two was around $3.
Anyway, especially in the educational context, people learning electronics, having access to cheap parts which otherwise would be unaffordable is worth the risk in non-critical settings.
As long as it is disclosed upfront.
(and it needs to be all the way down the chain) I don't think recycled parts should be used in mainstream products, just ones used for non-critical applications - experimentation, schools, maybe hey could be labeled recycled-"hobby grade" or something.
Its similar to getting parts from a car junkyard.. Sometimes its a life saver allowing somebody to get a few more years out a device that would otherwise go into the recycle chain for a dumb reason, lack of one part.
Full disclosure is the key to it being acceptable. Recycled parts should never be sold as new.