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I was searching for a place to donate clothes about a year ago, I ended up asking the security guard at my building and she just said to give them to her and she’ll take care of it, so that’s what I do.
give them to her and she’ll take care of it
That’s how *all* the ai-yi cleaner ladies are in my complex. During construction I ended up leaving tons of stuff in the hallway starting with like, half used materials cardboard etc.. they started asking to take it. Eventually I’d leave other replaced stuff out there and they’d start asking to take that stuff too. Sometimes they’d start towing shit away that I wanted and just had there, because the flexibility had basically come to “everything out there is open season”. They collected a huge stack of blankets/towels I bundled up (like 40lbs of blankets) and put out there when we bought a bunch of new stuff, and I saw it all drying in part of the courtyard one day….fun stuff.
Also, put anything on the street with a value of over 2 kuai and someone will likely just grab it. I’ve put things that are completely useless to me out on the street like broken fans and desks. Gone incredibly fast.
I’ve put things that are completely useless to me out on the street like broken fans and desks. Gone incredibly fast.
I was going to do that with the sofa I replaced if it didn’t get sold. I want to start filming what happens to stuff left without a clear owner in China, scavenge-able stuff.. maybe hook up a gopro from above and see how quickly and brazenly people walk by and snatch stuff up, or put some stuff outside that’s too heavy for 1 person to drag off and see how they deal with it, disassemble? collect friends? find tools to help?
I’ve put things that are completely useless to me out on the street like broken fans and desks. Gone incredibly fast.
I was going to do that with the sofa I replaced if it didn’t get sold. I want to start filming what happens to stuff left without a clear owner in China, scavenge-able stuff.. maybe hook up a gopro from above and see how quickly and brazenly people walk by and snatch stuff up, or put some stuff outside that’s too heavy for 1 person to drag off and see how they deal with it, disassemble? collect friends? find tools to help?
I was going to do that with bicycles to see how they get stolen. I would just put hidden a GoPro nearby. I think that in many cases it’s elderly people who just cruise around on 三轮车s picking up random things that are left behind. No idea what happens to it after they get it – fixed and resold somewhere?
No idea what happens to it after they get it – fixed and resold somewhere?
I always thought things typically go to scrap. Scrap is huge here…I think? Or at least always thought. But, come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen a scrapping yard.
recycle bottles/cans?
I always try to separate them, and when I take my stuff down to the garbage I always put bottles/cans bags separate beside the garbage rather than in it. I know the older ayi ladies at the compound try to collect up bottles and some specific materials (like cardboard/etc) so rather make it a little easier for them.
I find local people (at least, my wife) ALWAYS put empty bottles/cans in the garbage. I always pick them out if it’s one of my home bins. I mostly don’t like it because, if she wants to put plastic bottles or tins in the garbage, she can at least scrunch them down so they don’t take up this massive amount of room forcing me to change the bag more frequently 😀 From a pro-recycling perspective, I would wager that precisely zero bottles end up in landfill as by the time they get to a burial site they’ve probably been picked through 8-10 times and scavenged up. I sometimes wonder if the scavengers look inside all the bags….like, what about the bags I fill with used kitty litter, I wonder if someone scavenges through that, or what about diapers. I was thinking it’d be an interesting experiment, to put 50rmb and a “call this #, <some type of code here>” note in a diaper, saying if anyone sees this call the number and will send them additional money.. just to see if anyone actually opens that shit up during the scavenging process.
I always try to separate them, and when I take my stuff down to the garbage I always put bottles/cans bags separate beside the garbage rather than in it. I know the older ayi ladies at the compound try to collect up bottles and some specific materials (like cardboard/etc) so rather make it a little easier for them.
That’s a good practice. It had never occurred to me that I should be recycling in China, but there’s a monetary incentive for all the bottles to be collected by someone, so separating them makes sense.
My main incentive is less about recycling (that’ll probably happen anyway) but more about the other bit I mentioned, saving garbage space. Non-crunched bottles take up SO much garbage space, and I rather not have to change them as frequently (we use tons of little garbage bins around the house, not single big one at one central location, so maybe that plays into it)
C oming back to the topic, there are lots of places and teams and NGOs who accepts clothes donating and send them to the remote and rural places where people (children/adult) have less clothes. The only thing is you just need to wash the clothes and pack them in a good way. Will be better for disinfection.
Dear Alan, could you then please be kind and post the contact details (at least a phone number) of these places, teams and NGO’s here in this forum? I know many people are looking for a good destination for used (but good and clean) clothes (and other items such as toys, appliances, etc.). We just don’t know how to find these teams and NGO’s, I searched for a long time on the web but absolutely nothing turned up.
Kim, I will share the contact details tomorow. I do found a lots of such kinds of information, and I picked 2 of them. I would like to call them first to make sure the clothes donating is accepted for good and public. After I confirmed tomorrow, I reply you here
There is an organization that sets up recycling bins and teaches people how to use them; they run on a membership basis as I understand (you get rewards like dish soap etc for sorting and delivering your trash). I was going to write a profile on them but didn’t get around to it. I think they are only active in the Jinjiang district right now.
I went to one of their presentations last month and it was pretty eye opening – we throw out 1 kg/person/day of garbage, most of it ends up in the landfill, and the scavengers only add to the problem. I am not sure that the clothing/furniture that gets picked up and divided up immediately is included in that total.
Their site is http://www.lvsediqiu.com/We even have an ayi on an upper floor who goes through all the neighbours’ garbage; she was wearing an old pair of slippers of mine for ages. Now I take my old clothes to a neighbouring complex so I at least don’t have to see my discarded stuff walking around all the time.
we throw out 1 kg/person/day of garbage, most of it ends up in the landfill, and the scavengers only add to the problem
How do scavengers only add to the problem?
Have you ever seen those roads with garbage sorters? Like the collection points for trash, where there are HUGE bins and super early in the morning all these people in orange suits separate that shit out on the street into various piles and sort it all. Those are the city employees, but, before it even gets to them I’m sure most of the trash has been scavenged and recyclables or scrap materials collected for recycling/reselling. I don’t understand though, how any of that *adds* to the problem, wouldn’t it decrease the amount of shit that ends up in the landfills?
Also, the amount of waste per person in China, from what I read, is actually quite a bit lower than many western countries..not the case?
@ Kim, and to other interested guys, here’s what I confirmed today for clothes donating:
Place: Chengdu Bao Yue 4S shop, it’s a BMW selling company, located in Jinke South Road no. 3, Jinniu District
Final beneficiary: a primary school in Yushu city, Qinghai Province. the clothes will be sent to the children there and their parents
Note: I was told by the staff from BMW 4S shop, that the 4S shop sponsored a primary school in Yushu city, and they organize and accept clothes donating from time to time. Because of the whether there, winter clothes, or at least warm clothes are preferred
for your easy, I attached the screenshot of the map, on which you will find the place marked by ‘A’ in red
My coworker just sent out an e-mail along similar lines as this thread: her ‘mother’s association’ is doing a clothing/bedding drive for somewhere called 阿坝县 (northwest Sichuan). There are lots of poor families in the area it seems, and they’re looking for clothing of all types & any sort of bedding or other donations. I’ll provide the contact # for anyone who is looking via PM, just ask 😀
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