What a load of scrap

China Daily Africa | Updated: 2014-01-17 11:23

Share - WeChat

At dusk, scrappers return to Dongxiaokou village in Beijing, where nearly two-thirds of households deal in e-waste.

The global economic slowdown has left the scrappers struggling as prices for raw materials plummet.

The innards of used gadgets are heaped outside the tenement where recyclers work and sleep.

Dongxiaokou's scrapyards, on the northern outskirts of Beijing, epitomize China's industrial boom over the past two decades. Photos by Wang Jing / China Daily

Winter is bad for business. E-waste recyclers' peak season comes before university graduation, when students are most likely to shed their gadgets.

Dongxiaokou village, on the northern outskirts of Beijing, is the destination of much of Beijing's recyclable scrap. The yards of the village are filled with blocks of crushed metal, stacks of cardboard, heaps of plastic bottles and piles of newspapers and rags. It is home for more than 700 families, who work on sorting and preparing the scrap for a second life. Most are from Gushi, a poor county in Henan province. When darkness descends on the city, tricycles and trucks throng to the village, loaded with discarded cardboard, paper and plastic bottles.

ICY STARE: The extreme cold gives a resident of Inner Mongolia autonomous region a winter mask on the morning of Jan 10. Wang Wei / For China Daily

ALL LIT UP: Lanterns on show at the 20th Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Show that started in Zigong, Sichuan province, on Jan 13. He Haiyang / For China Daily

GUSTO: The pianist Lang Lang instructs a learner during a lecture in Tianjin Grand Theatre on Jan 9. More than 1,000 children took part. Wang Chen / For China Daily

COLD SPLENDOR: Daredevil driver Xie Yujun has a rough landing after flying 40 meters across Heilongjiang River in Heihe city, Heilongjiang province, on Jan 12. Qiu Qilong / For China Daily

ANIMAL RITES: A tourist and his duck take part in a skiing competition at a resort in Sanmenxia, Henan province, on Jan 12. About 40 contestants from around the nation participated with their pets. Wang Zhongju / China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 01/17/2014 page4)