Since November 1, 2024, Beijing Post has launched a "Resource Recycling, Second-hand Item Collection" service at 724 postal outlets across the city. Residents can exchange old clothes by weight for daily necessities and agricultural products on the spot. As of the time of reporting, the city's outlets had collected over 30 tonnes of clothing. The collection scope covers clothing for all seasons, shoes, bags, textiles, etc. Thermal underwear, fleece-lined shoes, and plastic-material bags are not included.

Key Points

  • Since November 1, 724 postal outlets in Beijing have fully launched the old clothes-for-goods exchange service
  • As of mid-November, postal outlets citywide had collected over 30 tonnes of clothing
  • Collected items are handed over to professional channels to be converted into recycled fibers, filling materials, etc.

Citywide Outlet Coverage, Residents Participate Nearby
The service covers all postal outlets in Beijing. Residents can bring old clothes to their nearest post office to process the exchange. On the morning of November 16, Auntie Wang, who lives in Qingshangyuan Community in Haidian District, brought two bags of old clothes to the post office at the community entrance. Staff member Han Lei inspected and weighed them, then exchanged them for laundry detergent based on 5 kilograms. The clothes were packed into special woven bags customized by Beijing Post labeled "Resource Recycling, Green Post," and at noon that day were transported by postal vehicle to Qinghe Post Office, where they were consolidated with clothes collected by other outlets in the district and entered the next stage of processing.

Staff said that dozens of residents come to the post office every day to inquire about the old clothes recycling service. Some post offices also coordinate with communities, using banners and display boards to carry out on-site collection and promotion. According to a relevant person in charge at Beijing Post, residents have responded well to this service, with users at various outlets calling to inquire or going directly to exchange items.

Exchange Goods Focus on Practicality, List to Be Dynamically Updated
Residents processing the service can exchange old clothes by weight for seafood oyster sauce, beer, drinking water, agricultural products from Beijing suburbs, and more. Beijing Post stated that in the initial phase, the service uses on-site exchange at outlets. Due to the inability to predict exchange volumes and user preferences, as well as limitations in product storage conditions, the variety of exchangeable products is still limited. Going forward, the company will continue to monitor market trends and update the exchange goods list.

The collected clothes will rely on professional recycling and processing methods to be converted into new resources such as recycled fibers and filling materials, serving resource circular utilization.

Future Plans: Expand Scope, Enter Communities, Launch Online Exchange
In response to residents' concerns about whether other items can be recycled, whether door-to-door collection is available, and whether online exchange is possible, Beijing Post responded that it will gradually expand the scope of second-hand item collection beyond old clothes; in addition to outlet collection, it will organize personnel to enter communities and regularly carry out centralized door-to-door collection; it will also launch an online exchange platform and use a "accumulate multiple times, redeem once" approach to help residents exchange for more suitable products.

A relevant person in charge at Beijing Post said that the company had conducted calculations on various aspects of the service in advance. By stacking services at postal outlets and reusing existing transport capacity, it will not add excessive costs. As residents' quality of life improves, second-hand item recycling and processing has become a daily need, and this service will continue to be improved and promoted.

Significance for the Industry
Beijing Post's use of 724 outlets as nodes and reuse of existing transport capacity for old clothes recycling provides a replicable urban model for the "postal network + old clothes recycling" approach. The dynamic adjustment of collection volumes and the exchange goods list also provides an observation window for how recycling companies and exchange goods supply chains can match residents' needs. (Reporter Li Ping)

Source: Old Clothes Sent to Any Post Office Citywide Can Be Exchanged for Practical Goods—Beijing Post's "Resource Recycling, Second-hand Item Collection" Service Well Received---Beijing Haidian Civilization Network · Originally published on 2024-11-21