University recycling turns trash into treasure (5)

Scarce profit

Despite the thousands of packs of paper recycled, Liu Quan's company, however, is barely making any profit.

As one of the first pilot projects in the capital to carry out waste recycling since 2007, the company is capable of sorting some 50,000 tons of waste every year. However, supply shortages remain a headache.

Most waste ends up with the informal sectors, which can offer a higher price, Liu said.

According to Liu, most recycling business today is like public welfare, thanks to the high cost of machinery maintenances, logistics, labor, transportation and site costs, against all the fierce competition from the illegal workshops.

Taking all that into consideration, the production and sales of regenerative products barely counts.

However, now that so many universities are joining the union and more students are willing to participate, together with the policy support from the government, Liu is confident about the project's future.

And hopefully, he said, this will become a lucrative business in the near future.