I agree with the OP. I think "junk" being the main raw resource in this game should be scarce, or at least get continuously more scare as the game progresses. Sure, junk isn't what's going to have value, but the items crafted from them will be as limitless as the junk they're crafted from if it is overly-abundant. Scavenging feels a lot less impactful when theirs an unlimited amount of stuff to scavenge. It becomes more of a waiting game than a game of survival.
If u do something the community is clambering for, you're caving in. If you don't do what the community is clambering for, then you are ignoring the community. I guess the only option is for developers to save their time and money and not develop any more MMOs, cauz nobody is gonna be happy.