Throwback Thursday is when we trawl through the That's archives for a work of dazzling genius written at some point in our past. We then republish it. On a Thursday.
By Xia Yifan and Rachel Platt
Photos by Hannah Steele
Unlike in the West, recycling in Shanghai isn’t characterized by different color wheelie bins, nor is it the domain of middle-class do-gooders. Here recyclable goods are a valuable commodity and every Shanghai neighborhood has its own tricycle-riding recycle man hoping to buy your unwanted paper, plastic and glass.
For these men making friends is an important part of the job as fostering loyal business is the only way they can bring in enough cash to survive; average monthly earnings range between RMB1-2,000. Most pay RMB0.2 per kilogram for paper and RMB0.1 for a plastic bottle and then sell on to District Recycling Stations for a small profit.
“I divide the books into useful ones and ones that are good for recycling, such as text books on politics, which nobody wants.”
So instead of chucking all your rubbish in that black bin liner, why not keep some for Mr. Recycle. Even if you think the money is hardly worth having, you might make a new friend.
Forty-two-year-old Yan Guofu begins his day’s work at 8am with a ring of the bell on his tricycle. The smile never leaves his face as he chats and laughs with regular customers weighing their goods on his rusty but trusty hanging scales. “I took this job because I am not educated. I can’t even read or write. Some buddies from my hometown in Anhui came here and told me it was a good way to earn a living.
“I share a room with five other men paying RMB180 per month for my bed. Usually we all eat mantou and xifan (porridge), though if there’s a holiday, we may have fish or pork.
“I like my job, my only wish now is that I could find a wife. The hardest thing is that the Shanghainese look down upon us, because we’re not locals. You can tell that some of them think we are dirty.”
Zhang Xing starts his day with a trip to the local Recyclable Materials Station, where he sells everything he has collected the day before. He works at Songjiang University Town and likes to think of himself as an uncle figure for the students – even providing a free door-to-door service for those who are too lazy to come to him.
“I was inspired to start recycling by my son who always had a lot of used books and I thought they could be worth a lot if I started to collect them. That’s why I chose Songjiang University Town to do my business. Where there are students, there are books!”
“I divide the books into two sorts: Useful ones, like guide books, which I can sell to other students for anything between RMB1-5; and ones that are just good for recycling, such as text books on politics, which nobody wants. I like it best when I am given clothes, bicycles, quilts or computers, but these things are rare.”
“I like students – they are much more polite than other people in society. And because I’m always here, at the gate of Lane 300, they trust me. Sometimes just before the holidays some other recycle men will appear but my customers ignore them and come to me.”
This article first appeared in the October 2010 issue of That's Shanghai. To see more Throwback Thursday posts, click here.
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