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18-02-2014, 06:40 PM
An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
Zaihan Mohamed Yusof
The New Paper
Tuesday, Feb 18, 2014
SINGAPORE - I keep that $2 note in my wallet's coin compartment. This way, I'll not spend it by accident.
Sure, the amount is small change by today's standards. Yet, this $2 note holds special meaning for me.
It was earned through sweat, and very nearly tears, and it reminds me of how, for some people, money is earned with much difficulty.
Toiling in the sun, picking up things that people discard, that is how they make a living.
On Thursday afternoon, I joined their ranks briefly at Serangoon Road, in search of cardboard boxes to be sold to recyclers. I wanted to find out if it is possible to earn a living this way.
My hunt began after seeing an advertisement on Facebook. One recycler was willing to pay 10 cents for 1kg of used cardboard cartons. There must be an error because the payout is too little, I thought.
But intrigued, I decided to give it a go.
A daily reality
At Veerasamy Road and Clive Street off Serangoon Road, 9 to 10 cents per kg is the daily reality for some senior citizens who form the lines at the two cardboard collection points.
They eagerly wait for the weighing scales to show a favourable weight.
"Gor chap kilo (50kg in Hokkien)... gor kor ($5)," Mr Lock Lee Jin, 50, who mans the collection point at Veerasamy Road, shouts to sweaty uncle Tan Kim Seng, 80.
It is demoralising to see others, who carry smaller hauls, being paid in coins. One elderly woman left with $1.50 after turning in 15kg of cardboard.
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.singsupplies.com/showthread.php?175279-SPH-reporter-earns-2-on-a-day-he-collected-cardboards&goto=newpost).
Zaihan Mohamed Yusof
The New Paper
Tuesday, Feb 18, 2014
SINGAPORE - I keep that $2 note in my wallet's coin compartment. This way, I'll not spend it by accident.
Sure, the amount is small change by today's standards. Yet, this $2 note holds special meaning for me.
It was earned through sweat, and very nearly tears, and it reminds me of how, for some people, money is earned with much difficulty.
Toiling in the sun, picking up things that people discard, that is how they make a living.
On Thursday afternoon, I joined their ranks briefly at Serangoon Road, in search of cardboard boxes to be sold to recyclers. I wanted to find out if it is possible to earn a living this way.
My hunt began after seeing an advertisement on Facebook. One recycler was willing to pay 10 cents for 1kg of used cardboard cartons. There must be an error because the payout is too little, I thought.
But intrigued, I decided to give it a go.
A daily reality
At Veerasamy Road and Clive Street off Serangoon Road, 9 to 10 cents per kg is the daily reality for some senior citizens who form the lines at the two cardboard collection points.
They eagerly wait for the weighing scales to show a favourable weight.
"Gor chap kilo (50kg in Hokkien)... gor kor ($5)," Mr Lock Lee Jin, 50, who mans the collection point at Veerasamy Road, shouts to sweaty uncle Tan Kim Seng, 80.
It is demoralising to see others, who carry smaller hauls, being paid in coins. One elderly woman left with $1.50 after turning in 15kg of cardboard.
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.singsupplies.com/showthread.php?175279-SPH-reporter-earns-2-on-a-day-he-collected-cardboards&goto=newpost).