'Uncle Garbage' sheds a green light on piles of trash
By Victoria Fei |
February 23, 2013, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
HIS neighborhood nickname, Uncle Garbage, may not sound very flattering, but Hu Haisen has become something of a local environmental hero for going door-to-door collecting recyclable material and using the proceeds to donate to the needy.
He hardly cuts the figure of one who rummages through rubbish. The 50-something Taiwan native dresses well and greets neighbors with polished politeness.
He drives a truck on his rounds everyday, looking for treasures among trash.
He makes collections at no charge and then transports it to recycling centers. It's all an act of charity, he said.
Hu moved to Shanghai in 2000 and for the first three years spent most of his time sourcing goods in Zhejiang Province for a family business related to international trade.
The business foundered a bit when he finally settled down in the city, so he looked for something else meaningful to occupy his time.
"I love the city," he said. "I found a new career in trying to make Shanghai cleaner and a better place to live."
Until that's done, he said, he plans to stay put.
When he started out on his trash-recycling project, only a few families availed themselves of his services. But soon his reputation spread and now he has 3,000 clients, most of whom live in Minhang.
He visits 500 families each week and another 2,500 families bi-weekly.
He has even calculated his route to be as energy saving as possible, dividing Shanghai into six areas for Monday-Saturday pickups.
"That way I can save gasoline," he said. "That's also environmentally friendly."
When Uncle Garbage heard about students in poorer areas of Qinghai Province in western China who had no shoes to wear in winter, he decided to have winter footwear made for them with the money earned from his recycling.
Shoes for students
He vetted several shoe factories to find one willing to make the shoes at a low price.
"I told the owner why I wanted the shoes and he was willing to make them at below cost to help out this charity," he said. "We made 2,200 special thick winter shoes and sent them to four primary schools in Qinghai."
According to Hu, he helped 20,000 children in poorer areas last year, buying them recycled stationery, computers, books and clothes.
As his recycling business expanded, Hu found he needed a large warehouse to store reusable rubbish.
With the help of friends, he started the Futian Environmental Education Station and rented a warehouse in Minhang District.
To keep the storehouse clean and free of foul odors, Uncle Garbage asked his clients to do preliminary sifting of their rubbish and clean up items that could be recycled.
"The residents agreed," he said. "Now they clean the empty instant noodle bowls with tissue and wash their empty cola bottles."
Hu classifies garbage into nine categories: paper, plastic bags, glass, electrical appliances and electronics products, metals, wood, textured goods, plastic bottles and lamp bulbs.
The warehouse also serves as a recycling education center, attracting students from international schools with extracurricular lessons in garbage classification and recycling methods.
"Local schools haven't bought the idea and don't yet want to become part of it," said Hu. "I think both schools and parents think student time is better spent on homework."
But that doesn't discourage his Good Samaritan outlook.
"I can't stop because so many people are supporting me," Hu said. "My family and friends are behind me. We need to work together for society to advance harmoniously."
He hardly cuts the figure of one who rummages through rubbish. The 50-something Taiwan native dresses well and greets neighbors with polished politeness.
He drives a truck on his rounds everyday, looking for treasures among trash.
He makes collections at no charge and then transports it to recycling centers. It's all an act of charity, he said.
Hu moved to Shanghai in 2000 and for the first three years spent most of his time sourcing goods in Zhejiang Province for a family business related to international trade.
The business foundered a bit when he finally settled down in the city, so he looked for something else meaningful to occupy his time.
"I love the city," he said. "I found a new career in trying to make Shanghai cleaner and a better place to live."
Until that's done, he said, he plans to stay put.
When he started out on his trash-recycling project, only a few families availed themselves of his services. But soon his reputation spread and now he has 3,000 clients, most of whom live in Minhang.
He visits 500 families each week and another 2,500 families bi-weekly.
He has even calculated his route to be as energy saving as possible, dividing Shanghai into six areas for Monday-Saturday pickups.
"That way I can save gasoline," he said. "That's also environmentally friendly."
When Uncle Garbage heard about students in poorer areas of Qinghai Province in western China who had no shoes to wear in winter, he decided to have winter footwear made for them with the money earned from his recycling.
Shoes for students
He vetted several shoe factories to find one willing to make the shoes at a low price.
"I told the owner why I wanted the shoes and he was willing to make them at below cost to help out this charity," he said. "We made 2,200 special thick winter shoes and sent them to four primary schools in Qinghai."
According to Hu, he helped 20,000 children in poorer areas last year, buying them recycled stationery, computers, books and clothes.
As his recycling business expanded, Hu found he needed a large warehouse to store reusable rubbish.
With the help of friends, he started the Futian Environmental Education Station and rented a warehouse in Minhang District.
To keep the storehouse clean and free of foul odors, Uncle Garbage asked his clients to do preliminary sifting of their rubbish and clean up items that could be recycled.
"The residents agreed," he said. "Now they clean the empty instant noodle bowls with tissue and wash their empty cola bottles."
Hu classifies garbage into nine categories: paper, plastic bags, glass, electrical appliances and electronics products, metals, wood, textured goods, plastic bottles and lamp bulbs.
The warehouse also serves as a recycling education center, attracting students from international schools with extracurricular lessons in garbage classification and recycling methods.
"Local schools haven't bought the idea and don't yet want to become part of it," said Hu. "I think both schools and parents think student time is better spent on homework."
But that doesn't discourage his Good Samaritan outlook.
"I can't stop because so many people are supporting me," Hu said. "My family and friends are behind me. We need to work together for society to advance harmoniously."
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