Among the many news in The Standard, this one really tugged at me for obvious reasons. Incidentally, i’ve seen the scrap collectors “watering” their pile of scrap paper and initially didn’t understand the reason. That is until a friend explained that it was to increase the weight. 

When I first arrived in HK, I was sad to see elderly people, collecting scrap paper or rummaging through dustbins for tin cans.  And then I was amazed that at their old-er age, they were still healthy and able to carry / push this heavy trolley, laden with all kinds of odds and ends.   I’ve shared my observation with afew local friends and some are visibly embarrassed at this negative perception of HK.  While some were emphathetic that this is an unfortunate “by-product” of cosmopolitan HK, where its high cost of living has required that some elderly people would need to support themselves, through any means possible.   Don’t get me wrong, I don’t see anything wrong in collecting scraps… it’s an honest living.  What I am sad about, is that at their old-er age, these popos (Grandmas) and kungkung (Grandpas) should be spending their retirement, relaxing and not having many cares / worries. 

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Clampdown on scrap paper cheats

Unscrupulous scrap paper dealers are using faulty scales to cheat scavengers – mostly women and the elderly – out of the little money they make.

Beatrice SiuThursday, May 07, 2009

Unscrupulous scrap paper dealers are using faulty scales to cheat scavengers – mostly women and the elderly – out of the little money they make.  Customs officers, who uncovered the scam, have begun a clampdown on the cheats.  In recent weeks, six people have been fined sums ranging from HK$2,000 to HK$5,000, while 10 more cases are being processed.

The Society for Community Organization’s Sze Lai-shan accused the scrap dealers of being “heartless” as most of the scavengers were women or the elderly, trying hard make a little extra money to support their families or pay medical expenses.

From late 2008 to last month, officers of the Customs and Excise Department made surprise checks at scrap shops in Kwun Tong, Ngau Tau Kok, North Point and Kwai Chung and found several scales had been manipulated to under-weigh scrap paper by 10 to 38 percent, according to the department’s Consumer Protection Bureau deputy chief Wong Yiu-cheung.  Wong said the defective equipment had been seized after verification, in addition to the fines.  Customs received 168 complaints since 2007, with 14 cases successfully prosecuted.

A source familiar with the recycling sector said cheating is common, with at least 60 to 70 percent of the traders being involved in the practice.  One reason for this was the reduced demand for recycled paper, prompting traders to begin underweighing to make up the shortfall, the source said.  Some of the sellers were also to blame as they sprayed water on the scrap paper to increase the weight, the source added.  Wong reiterated that traders should not use fraudulent scales as it was against the law.  He suggested they could, instead, refuse to buy scrap paper from sellers they suspect were trying to cheat them. He said Customs had stepped up spot checks and would continue to take stringent enforcement action against errant traders.

Under the ordinance, any person who possesses, manufactures, supplies or uses false or defective weighing or measuring equipment for trade can be fined up to HK$20,000 and be imprisoned for six months.

Yeung Shun-kwai, 76, said she began trading in scrap paper after her husband died three years ago. She now earns about HK$20 a day compared with around HK$80 a day last year, since the price of scrap paper has fallen to just 50 cents a kilogram.