Survival on a junk economy

Hong Kong people's resilience and the will to survive are unmatched anywhere else in the world. Thousands of elderly men and women scour the streets every day, peddling waste materials just for a couple of dollars to eke out a living. The number is on the rise as the poverty gap widens. Many are struggling to make ends meet, with some refusing to be on the dole.

Octogenarian "Tai Pak", trundles a specially-converted, two-wheel cart out of his cubicle home in a rundown quarter of Wong Tai Sin two or three times every day, come rain or shine.

He rendezvous with the operator of one of the hundreds of so-called "environmental" shops that have sprouted all over the city in recent years to unload his trolley of waste newspapers, cardboard, unused cans and other paraphernalia. Each transaction earns him between HK$10-20.

It's not his pastime or hobby, "Tai Pak" frankly acknowledged. "I have to do it to keep my head above water."

"I've no choice, as I have no children to depend on to survive," says "Tai Pak," who also draws on the monthly HK$1,000 ($129.02) plus welfare "fruit money" to which he is legally entitled, as a "first-tier" senior citizen.

The 89-year-old is among thousands of elderly "garbage" peddlers seen trundling along Hong Kong streets daily to eke out a living by selling whatever old, unused material they can lay their hands on.

Players in the industry say the trend is no coincidence, but is a deep reflection of the sort of economic conditions we are in, with the poverty gap stretching to the limit.

The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSC), which keeps a regular tab on the city's economic environment, says in its latest report that the number of elderly people living in poverty has seen a drastic spike over the years, with one in three struggling to make ends meet.

The situation has been much aggravated by a rapidly aging population, a gloomy global economic outlook and runaway inflation.

Pakistan-born Ah Sam, an active player in the "garbage business", has seen the number of his suppliers grow more than 10-fold from a mere 20 when he started six years ago.

"But this is no 'lap sap' (rubbish) business, you know. It's a really a billion-dollar operation in Hong Kong," says Sam, who has been a Hong Kong resident for 23 years and speaks fluent Cantonese.

His job is to collect tons of waste newspapers, cardboard, unused tins and cans, as well as scrap metal from his loyal horde of suppliers, who turn up punctually at designated collection spots in Kowloon. The materials then are taken by truck to a key processing center at Cha Kwo Ling, where they are separated, compressed and prepared for shipment to recycling plants on the mainland.

China Daily's reporter was taken on a tour of those collection points. It was an astonishing sight - at least 30 suppliers showed up with their stuff on carts and trolleys within half an hour, for instant transactions.

They are paid at "market rates" - 70 HK cents for a kilogram of waste newspapers and cardboard; 10 cents for each unused can or tin; HK$1 a kg for iron containers; HK$8 for scrap steel and HK$50 per kg for copper.

"Most of them cart in their stuff once every three days. Most earn HK$50 to HK$100 a day, while one of my customers makes about HK$300 daily," says Sam.

"These people are really hard-working. Most, of course, need the money to keep themselves going, while only a few do it because they're bored or they just want to supplement their monthly income."

But, he also had some harsh words for a few of his suppliers who he claims to be too "materialistic" and "tend to go overboard with me". "They're never quite contented with what I'm paying them for their stuff," says Sam.

"Tai Pak" has been peddling waste materials for the past four years, but due to physical constraints, he is able to rake in only a few hundred dollars a month - far less that what his peers are making.

"I'm quite happy with it though. I would like to earn more if my health allowed," he explains.

Many of "Tai Pak's" elderly acquaintances have been in the business even longer. Some are not even on the dole because "they care about dignity" and prefer "not to be bombarded with sneers and petty insults" from neighbors they believe would follow if it were known they depended solely on welfare aid. He wants the Hong Kong government to be aware of what needy people are doing and take an interest. Not everyone who has a conscience wants to rely on pure handouts for a living.