Giving recycling to the old ladies with carts full of recycling

I heard from a Taiwanese person that the old ladies who push carts around and collect recycling from businesses are not paid any money by those companies. I was told they only get the money from turning in the recycling. Is this correct?

Normally, when I am out walking, I carry all my recycling home. I assumed that trying to give my paper or plastic materials to one of those ladies would be 1) rude and 2) extra work for her. I figured that since Taiwanese people were so nice, she might take it with a smile but really be inconvenienced.

Would those ladies actually be helped/ happy if I gave them my soda bottle, plastic fork, or paper bag? I’d be willing to give that stuff to them, if it would help. However, if not, I’d just continue to take it home and recycle it.

It’s true that they earn their income from the value of what they recycle, in weight. We used to have one who came to our home once a week or so and rang the bell, before we moved to a community with 24 hour trash collection services.

Some recyclers specialize in one material or another. If they’re hoarding around nothing but plastic bottles, they probably won’t want your cardboard box. It wouldn’t hurt to offer. I don’t think they’d be insulted. Perhaps just have a glance to see what it is that they are pushing around.

I like these people, they take so much of our recycling waste. Put the stuff out at 2pm, and it’s normally all gone within the hour. It’s really unusual that I actually get to throw anything in the recycling truck, so it saves me time and effort.

Except glass - they never pick up that. Doesn’t seem to be any money in glass bottles.

An old lady around my area waits for the rubbish truck, then we let her inside our building and she picks up all the plastic and cardboard that we collect in a box for her. Just as Nuit mentioned, she doesn’t pick up glass either, we need to recycle that ourselves.

Yes, no one buys glass nor stereo foam. Those you give to the gummit to process.

Certain plastic is also not sellable, so verify. Furthermore, if you want to be of more assistance, some old people prefer you hand in your plastic bottles flat -takes a lot of effort for them to flatten and it really saves a lot of space.

I thought for sure that they would at least want the 600ml bottles of Taiwan Beer. 2 NT deposit on each one. But I guess the problem with glass is that it isn’t very economical in terms of the amount of space it takes up (can’t be folded up or crushed) and its weight.

It is simply not bought. Only the Government recycles it… for roads… I know, it beats logic, so heavy. In the ol country, it is the most expensive to buy/sell. Here in Taiwan it is cardboard the most coveted.

All the several recycling folks (both men and women in my neighborhood) have been happy to come to my place and pick up my recycling when I ask them to (which I do according to whichever of them I happen to run into first).

When I don’t see any of them around, I have the cell phone number of one of them in my phone. Once I’ve collected a large load of recycling, I call her and arrange a time for her to come and pick it up, which she is very happy to do. She wants everything but glass, but she also takes my glass as a convenience to me. Of course, if it is refundable glass bottles,then they definitely will want those.

Also the mijyo bottles. Those also have a 2 NT bounty. Again, I’d think those are worthwhile for them because the bottles can be turned in at any convenience store where as the other stuff needs to be schlepped across town to a recycling center.

Almost all the recycling people in my area are mutants, I can’t stand the sight of them, but I wish taxes were higher so they could be taken care of to stay inside in comfort. It’s a fuckin outrage that they aren’t taken care of.

:laughing: Styrofoam :whistle:

Actually, some Taiwan beer bottles can not be returned for a deposit, don’t ask me why.

White glass is more wanted than colored … I’ve been told, that’s why in Europe they have seperate recycling containers for colored and white glass.

I can’t tell if you’re trolling or not.

Does anyone know how much money these guys make per day? Can they scrape 200TWD to pay for food?

I can’t tell if you’re trolling or not.

Does anyone know how much money these guys make per day? Can they scrape 200TWD to pay for food?

I can’t tell if you’re trolling or not.

Does anyone know how much money these guys make per day? Can they scrape 200TWD to pay for food?[/quote]

I’ve heard of recycling people making tens of thousands of NT per month. There are probably some doing better than white collar workers in terms of money made and hours worked.

Actually, some Taiwan beer bottles can not be returned for a deposit, don’t ask me why.[/quote]

On some of the Only 18 Days bottles they don’t have the 2 NT mark on them. They’ll check to see if they have them or not. If they don’t they won’t take them many times. Also it seems that if a certain place doesn’t sell a certain type of beer, for example 18 Days, that they won’t take those bottles. However, other places don’t seem to care. There is a Family Mart down the street from me that seems to take anything, even stuff they don’t sell, for example, the Wheat Beer. Then there was another store that wouldn’t take the new Classic Taiwan Beer bottles for some odd reason. I explained that they were the same, just a new bottle. They didn’t seem to get it. I have no idea what the reason was besides that they were really fucking stupid.

The recycling ladies and the members of the recycling family business that runs downstairs in my building have, one more than one occasion, literally snatched bags of garbage from my hands as I was walking to the garbage truck. There is even an old lady that has politely asked me for my bag of non-recyclable garbage: she noticed I would often throw bags out that were barely half full and she wanted to keep using them in a bin just outside her house. I initially felt really bad (what my my garbage being 80% used cat litter) but she was really determined.

Someone posted on the forum that 7-11 actually takes back any electronics recyling and even pays for it according the weight or something.

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I can’t tell if you’re trolling or not. [/quote]

I’m not, many of these people I see are decrepit, essentially walking corpses, they should be taken care of resting inside houses in comfort. Also see lots of younger mentally handicapped people doing it. Not good.