Beijing Post launched its "Resource Recycling, Used Item Collection" program in November 2024. Across the city's 724 postal outlets, more than 30 tons of used clothing have been collected, exceeding expectations.

Key Points

  • All 724 Beijing Post outlets have fully rolled out the used item collection service, with cumulative clothing collection exceeding 30 tons
  • Collected items include shirts, coats, pants, vests and plush toys, redeemable by weight for daily necessities
  • Currently, used clothing is handed over to professional recycling companies; items that cannot be reused will be converted into recycled fibers and filling materials

At the Dongsi Post Office in Beijing, a corner of the hall is filled with goods available for redemption—boxes of oyster sauce, cooking wine, rice vinegar, soap, bottled water, as well as small packages of edible salt, laundry detergent, tissues, wet wipes and more. Residents bring idle clothing from home to the counter, where staff sort each item, bag it, weigh it and process the exchange.

Mr. Li Jiuju, who lives in Qianguaibang Hutong, brought two large bags of clothing, including shirts, coats, pants, a vest and a plush teddy bear. The clerk said plush toys are also within the collection scope. After weighing, the items totaled 3.374 kilograms, redeemable for a bag of laundry detergent. Li Jiuju said that with improved living conditions, there are fewer places that need old clothes, and throwing them away feels wasteful. Bringing them to the post office so they can be sent for reuse is a good deed.

Ms. Ding Meiyu brought old clothes, several of which were new, some with tags still attached. She said she was happy to exchange them for paper, oil and other daily necessities, but would be willing even without anything in return, because these old clothes really have nowhere else to go. Other residents doing business at the site gathered around to inquire upon seeing this.

Zhang Yu, head of Beijing Post's used item collection project, explained that collected old clothing is handed over to professional recycling companies for recycling and reuse. Items that cannot be reused are converted into new resources such as recycled fibers and filling materials. This is also why the program does not accept carpets, fleece-lined shoes, electric vehicle windproof covers and similar items, as these are difficult to disassemble and process, or no longer have reuse value.

Zhang Yu also said that Beijing Post will continue to improve and promote this service. Next, building on collection at postal outlets, it will organize staff to go into communities and regularly carry out centralized door-to-door collection. At the same time, it will offer more redemption product options through its online platform and support "multiple collections, one redemption," for example, exchanging old items for redemption vouchers that can be used in the postal mall to redeem desired goods.

For the used clothing recycling industry, Beijing Post's collection of over 30 tons through 724 outlets is leveraging urban-end used clothing aggregation, meaning public service institutions with dense outlet networks are becoming a new channel in the used clothing recycling chain. Its approach of converting non-reusable items into recycled fibers and filling materials also provides a stable source for the recycled materials end.

Source: Issue No. 1062 · Originally published on 2024-11-26