Recycling

The recycling collection system here is, as far as I can tell, based on the efforts of various self-employed waste pickers who root around in the trash and ask for your empty bottle when they see you carrying one.  Where they take their bottles is what I aim to find out.

I met one Mr. Mu on a bus.  I immediately gravitated toward him because I saw a big bag of crushed plastic bottles at his feet.  I struck up a conversation and found out that he can make 5 yuan (75 cents) for every kilogram of bottles.  I've been spending about 5 yuan for a breakfast of steamed buns, soymilk, and fruit, so it's more than pennies here.  He was very happy to receive bottles from the Americans who accompanied me (I will post a picture of my co-fellows soon.)  Mr. Mu can get a kg of bottles per day.  He lives near where my friends Matt and David live, and he takes his bottles to a recycling station? receiver? sorter? (I couldn't understand what he was saying) in the area.  That was all I could get out of him, besides a number of blanket statements ("Germans are smart," "Africans are tall," America is developed," "America has a lot of black people" Yes, we have some, was my answer.)  

In true fashion, Mr. Mu looked through the garbage cans at his bus stop as soon as he got off.

Today I ran into some guys collecting the recycling in my neighborhood, and, not having time to talk, assured them that I had bottles for them and that I would find them later...

Edit: Today (Sept. 7) I got hit on by our local recycling collector. I politely declined his request for my phone number but did give him all my bottles. Hopefully now I have a new friend who can tell me a little more about this business.