As I recall it wasn't "to stick it to the environmentalists", it was simply preservationist thinking. They didn't want something they saw as scarce & useful destroyed, the same way you might prefer to sell your old laptop to someone who will appreciate it and re-use it vs someone who wants to melt it.
There was a lot of overlap between people with each of those opinions. My recollection is the same as yours, though - the motivation was more preservation and the idea that "the good stuff" was now a limited resource that could never be replaced.
