Reporter Ma Jing

Classified trash cans are sold out, and online garbage collection platforms have quietly emerged... Recently, the "new trend" of garbage classification, which was first scraped out from Shanghai, has swept the Internet and become a hot topic among the people. At present, 46 cities including Beijing have become the first batch of pilot cities for garbage classification, and garbage classification will soon become a daily routine for more people. The reporter's investigation found that as the most valuable "garbage", recycling of renewable resources is still difficult. On the one hand, the number of scavengers is constantly decreasing, and on the other hand, standardized Internet recycling platforms are unsustainable. If mandatory classification is implemented, can recycling of renewable resources usher in a turnaround?

Inefficient smart recycling machines become decorations

Ms. Xie, who lives in Changying, recently sorted out a lot of old clothes and old books and magazines. According to her previous habits, she would directly throw them into the garbage cans in the community, but seeing that everyone was hotly discussing garbage classification, she decided to deal with them through a standardized recycling method. Remembering that there was a row of smart recycling machines near her home, Ms. Xie went to experience it, but she didn't expect the machine to not work properly.

The reporter found this intelligent recycling machine ranked as "Little Yellow Dog" in Huiwanhong Community. There are 7 boxes side by side on the site, which are used to put different categories such as metal, plastic, textile, and beverage bottles. However, the plastic, textile, and paper categories are all displayed as "full", and the beverage bottle category is displayed as "fault". Only the glass and metal boxes can be used. Select the glass category, and then scan the QR code with WeChat, and the delivery port will open automatically, but in addition to a small number of glass bottles, there are also plastic bottles and cans, which does not achieve the purpose of classified delivery.

The reporter randomly checked the status of machines in different locations on the Little Yellow Dog APP, and most machines could not be used normally. For example, the machine located in Fangxingyuan District 2 can only put glass categories, and the machine located in Guanshuyuan Community can only put metal and glass categories. The APP shows that in addition to offline scanning and delivery, you can also make an appointment for door-to-door recycling, but you cannot place an order. Customer service said that door-to-door recycling is currently being upgraded.

In fact, after the Spring Festival this year, the "Little Yellow Dog" in many cities has stopped. In May, Xiaohuanggou Company stated on Weibo that after a brief suspension, some cities have resumed operations. However, from the current situation, the actual effect of resuming operations has been greatly reduced.

Last year, Xiaohuanggou entered many provinces and cities including Beijing, becoming a star enterprise in the field of renewable resource recycling. By the beginning of this year, more than 10,000 devices had been installed. But rapid expansion has also put a test on operating costs. It is understood that due to the impact of funds, "Xiaohuanggou" has now entered the process of bankruptcy reorganization.

High cost makes Internet recycling difficult to sustain

The decline of Xiaohuanggou is not an isolated case. In recent years, many companies have targeted the renewable resource recycling business and have tried to provide recycling services through the "Internet +" method, but most platforms are losing money and making a profit, and few can continue to operate.

Ms. Liu, a resident of Huishi Xinyuan Community, recently received a business adjustment notice from "Bangdaojia". The information shows that her community has suspended door-to-door recycling business. Bangdaojia, which started in 2014, is an O2O platform for door-to-door recycling under Yingchuang Recycling. After individual recyclers join the platform, they provide door-to-door recycling services by accepting orders. The reporter learned from Bangdaojia that as early as two years ago, Bangdaojia stopped promoting the platform, but the server did not stop running, and waste recyclers can still accept orders on the platform, but if the waste recyclers withdraw from the platform, the residents of the corresponding community will no longer be able to enjoy the service.

"In 2014, the O2O model was very popular. We also wanted to try to provide door-to-door recycling services through this model, but after two years of operation, we found that we could not find a profit point." Chang Tao, the person in charge of Bangdaojia, introduced that at present, Bangdaojia has achieved transformation and mainly provides resource recycling technology platforms for local governments.

Some startups have also tried to build their own recycling teams. Zaishenghuo, which started in Beijing in 2014, is the first company in China with Internet recycling qualifications and has recruited a group of young "recycling brothers" who drive uniform electric tricycles to collect waste in communities. At most, they cover more than 1,000 communities in Beijing. But in 2017, Zaishenghuo declared bankruptcy due to a broken capital chain. The founder of Zaishenghuo once said that the average door-to-door cost of community errand service is 6 to 7 yuan, but if door-to-door fees are charged for recycling waste, it will be difficult for users to accept it.

Mandatory classification market to be activated

Since the Internet platform cannot achieve a perfect "marriage" with renewable resources, can it return to the original and rely on flexible individual recyclers for recycling? The reporter found that the waste recyclers who used to walk the streets are now very rare.

Master Song, a recycler who has been stationed in Chaoyang District for many years, said that most of the people who come to deliver goods are cleaners in the community or elderly people who are used to picking up garbage. They pick out valuable waste from the trash cans and then pack them and send them to the recycling station. Mr. Chen, who has worked in the field of renewable resource recycling in Beijing for ten years, said that compared with many years ago, at least half of the waste recyclers in Beijing have withdrawn from the industry, and some renewable resources will be shared by other recyclers, but overall, the recycling volume has still decreased by 30% to 40%. These scavengers prefer high-value waste products, and low-value recyclables such as takeout boxes and Tetra Pak milk cartons are difficult to enter the recycling channels.

Mandatory garbage classification is expected to change this embarrassing situation. According to the plan of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, by the end of 2020, the 46 key cities that have piloted the system will basically have established a garbage classification and treatment system. This also requires each pilot city to increase its investment in the recycling of renewable resources, so that more valuable "garbage" can be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way, rather than simply incinerated.

With the implementation of mandatory garbage classification, Internet recycling platforms that once struggled to survive may usher in a second spring. It is understood that considering the changes in the overall environment of garbage classification, Yingchuang is planning to resume services for Bangdaojia and continue to explore models to promote garbage reduction at the source.

Plastic Industry Video