Recycling in China: Recyclers - 大波
I live in a small community called 九莲新村 which is translated as 9 Lotus Community and according to my dictionary, might also be a reference to a celestial Buddha in some sects of Buddhism. A couple of months ago when I decided to concentrate on China’s recycling “system” I had approach some of the recyclers with 3-wheeled carts that roam the streets and congregate under an empty storefront with a large, life-giving awning to try to interview them. After stammering out that I was a research from the States and going into some long elevator pitch about my research, I received blank stares and a terse “what do you want to know anyways? Why are you doing this”. I had excused myself from this situation with head between legs and the important lesson that one needs to know their audience. Obviously the same spiel I use when talking to managers of companies wont’ work here.
Stoop Kids are really Awning Kids: DA BO on the right, sitting
Last week, I had purchased another 2nd hand bike after my first one pretty much just decomposed via rust in front of my eyes. I wanted to salvage some of the parts from Bike 1 to Bike 2 though so had run around the streets looking for a wrench. The recyclers (from under that awning) watched me and I decided to try another tactic. I offered them the bike and after a series of back and forth, had their attention and (possibly) respect since I don’t think they see that many girls asking around for wrenches.
I had a chance to sit down with some of them a few days later, all who insisted to me their names were DA BO. I ended up speaking to mostly DA BO #1.
Another research mistake – I opened my bag up and my Macbook was clearly displayed. DA BO #1 immediately jumped on this -
DA BO: “I want your laptop. “
Me: “To sell?”
DA BO: “Not to sell, and not for myself, but for my kids to play with”
And thus is how we began our half interview half shooting the shit.
DA BO is from Henan, a small city that I couldn’t quite catch the name of due to his heavier dialect accent. When asked how long he’s been here he shouts (well really says… his speaking voice was pretty much at shout decibel the entire time) that he arrived here around 10 days ago. That didn’t make sense to me… I’m pretty sure I’ve seen DA BO going up and down the streets for a couple of months now. Apparently he and his 老乡 (someone from your hometown) did indeed return to Hangzhou 10 days ago after going back to Henan to plant crops. He returns home every 3 months or so to cultivate his farm.
Mentions of countryside bring me back to my days in Hongcun
At home, he has a family of four, he, his wife, and his two girls. I ask him how old his kids are. “I have no idea… in their 20s”, he answers. He chortles “ in China, it’s not like in the states, we don’t have celebrations for people’s birthdays. It just happens”. He’s 48 but would look so much younger if it wasn’t his skin that had the exact imager of “leathery skin”. We go back and forth about age in which I tell him there’s no way that he’s that old and he guesses I’m 17 at most. Well then. When I asked him if he wished he had a boy, to my surprise he answered that two girls are better, you wouldn’t have to pay as much (in Chinese tradition it’s customary for the boy to have to buy a house/car/land before he gets married, up to 500,000 RMB he says!)
His older daughter’s already married. “Those with no schooling, we have to marry early” he offers up, without me having so much as bat an eye. It always astounds me how much Chinese people know about America. Do we know that much about day –to-day Chinese life? “It’s not like in your country, you wouldn’t understand this need”. DA BO himself has only a second grade education and considers himself illiterate. He jokes that he can’t understand the English I’m scribbling in my notebook… but wouldn’t be able to read the Chinese either. He hasn’t had an opportunity to learn, but insisted that he wouldn’t want to learn anyways at this point “I’m too old, just too old. I’ve already been like this for so long” .
Why did he start doing this type of work?
The independent schedule he could operate by was DA BO’s first reason. Also… he needed to survive. He had tried to find another job when first coming to Hanghzou – he looked everywhere, but no one wanted someone that couldn’t read. He ended up in my small community because he got used to it – “I don’t have friends here” he insists when I offer that maybe he stayed because of other people. The people he knows in Henan in his small village are twice in number of that in Hangzhou, despite how big Hangzhou is. He started doing this type of work 4-5 years ago, but continuously maintained “it makes me no money”.
At one point, he made some crack about how the heavens are protecting this bitter life. However, throughout all these instances of his extreme, he kept an unwavering smile on.
There’s too many recyclers in Hangzhou he insists. When asked if he’s afraid of the competition, he, still smiling, shouts/says “VERY”. He lives somewhere 30 km to the west, an area maybe called “TangHe”. Regardless, it’s far.
What does he collect?
Paper (which takes up most of his haul), Iron, Plastic, no glass bottles. His daily haul can range from nothing to 1,000 斤 and his profit ranges between 30 and 40 块 on average. A three-wheeled cart, the most essentially and pretty much only equipment needed, costs around 100 RMB. He buys paper for around .3/half kilo and sells for around .4/half kilo.
At one point they start joking about prices for things… including for me. “You’ll definitely go for at least 10 kuai/half kilo”. Me? As valuable as copper? They shouldn’t have. I insist that I haven’t weighed myself in awhile so couldn’t give them a final price. A few minutes later, a scale suddenly appears. Yet again, I find myself using my weight as leverage (pun intended) for my interviews.
Oh Hello again
The prices are based on the distribution centers he sells to, which apparently are located all throughout Hangzhou, even on the block over from me. However, the ones in the actual city of Hangzhou offer a much lower price than the ones on the outskirts of town so he makes the drive to the outskirts of town.
He doesn’t buy from sanitation workers (those in orange) because they apparently sell at a higher price than just people from the neighborhood. Thinking about Big Sister Chang’s story, who seems to have much cooperation with the sanitation workers in her small community, how people organize will always differ, sometimes greatly. He also doesn’t cooperate with businesses to directly take any of their trash because it’ll constrict his freedom. He does have to go back to his farm every few months.
The police don’t bother him, they used to be harsher with their treatment of the recyclers but recently have loosened up. When I ask why they don’t bother him, he just answers “Why should they bother us, we’re just like beggars… but instead of money we just want food”.
He hasn’t heard of the 物尽其用 or 9 BEIKE platforms, and after I explain it to them, he says he’s not worried, they go after a different demographic than he does.
While this is going on, the other recycler who had left and came back with a load from someone’s house is testing to see what metal type a small rocket alike machine is using a magnet that sticks to his cart. No need for some fancy chemical test to see metal breakdown, the magnet here is just fine. The magnet doesn’t stick. I start watching the recycler with the magnet take apart his small rocket machine and all the recyclers snicker at my weird curiosity.
Rocket ship maybe time machine thing, the compressed metal piece on the left is the aluminum shell that Magnet Man had just taken off
“The outside is aluminum” another recycler says. “the inside has copper”
Magnet Man works with much skill, clearly having done this many,many times. Copper goes for around 10 RMB/half kilo and one of the recycler has water faucets that contain large amounts of it. The recyclers also do other work as I ask them for help moving my stuff later this summer when I move out. I wrote down DA BO's number, I was really starting to enjoy his company. “I can do everything! Except have children that is!” DA BO juts in without missing a beat.