[Explanation] On February 26, outside a community in Jinjiang District, Chengdu, Sichuan, a waste recycling truck parked on the side of the road attracted nearby residents to line up to sell waste products.

The waste collector Zhang Quan quickly took over all kinds of waste products and settled them to the residents according to the guidance price of the day.

It is hard to imagine that the hard-working young man in front of him is a returned master.

  [Explanation] Zhang Quan, 32, is from Xinjiang. He graduated from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom with a bachelor's degree, and then studied for a master's degree in international management at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom.

In 2019, Zhang Quan settled in Chengdu to find a job as an analyst in the financial industry, and began to travel between major office buildings to write investment proposals to clients.

At the end of December 2020, Zhang Quan gave up his glamorous financial white-collar job and changed his career to become a waste collector.

  [Concurrent] Zhang Quan, a waste collector

  I think this is a change in social development from a macro perspective.

Like before, people always mentioned what kind of undergraduate or master's degree to deliver food, like the beginning, everyone can't accept it.

Including the earlier Peking University (graduate) who went to sell pork, everyone felt very surprised.

Now it's different. The times are developing. Everyone says that three hundred and sixty lines are the best.

Just do it well in each industry and don't care what you do.

  [Explanation] Seven cents and fifty-one catties of waste paper, five cents and one catty of waste iron... Now Zhang Quan has memorized the recycling price of each type of waste.

When encountering residents who are bargaining, Zhang Quan will choose to give in.

After collecting a full car of waste, Zhang Quan will drive the car to the waste sorting center for delivery, and then return to the point to recycle the waste.

  [Concurrent] Zhang Quan, a waste collector

  My customers can be divided into two categories, one is the spots at the door of this kind of community, and the other is the supermarkets and fruit shops at the door.

As far as this point is concerned, I am fixed here every day, and these grandpas and aunts will spread the word on seeing this kind of car.

At the beginning, there was no one at all, and it gradually accumulated.

This is like doing sales. Without the customer base, there is no conversion rate.

If you do it every day, four or five cars will be fine, or even more.

For example, the monthly income is about 30,000 to 40,000, and there is no ceiling. Now I work about ten hours a day.

  [Explanation] At the beginning of choosing a career change, Zhang Quan also had concerns about his relatives and friends not understanding, but in the end he decided to stick to his choice.

  [Concurrent] Zhang Quan, a waste collector

  When I first joined this platform, I didn't tell my family, because the older generation thought it would be better for the work unit to be stable, but as I saw such a good opportunity, I could try decisively, so I didn't tell them.

After the Chinese New Year, I told them that their attitude changed from surprise to understanding and support.

Although I can’t use the major I have learned, it will definitely develop better in the future.

I am a little concerned about other people's ideas, but I still do it myself. A thousand people have a thousand ideas. It is you (you) who make the decision.

  [Explanation] On March 1, the "Regulations on the Management of Domestic Waste in Chengdu" will be officially implemented.

If the household garbage is not classified and put in according to the requirements, a fine of up to 500 yuan may be imposed.

Zhang Quan said that under the policy background, the upstream and downstream waste recycling industry has released a lot of opportunities and the market prospect is broad. He believes that he will have a lot to do in this industry.

  [Concurrent] Zhang Quan, a waste collector

  Everyone produces a lot of different kinds of garbage every day, and these things cannot be collected.

As an industry, it must have a large market and a very good prospect.

My plan for myself is that within a year or two, I must first be proficient in the identification of these goods and the fluctuations in the market, including simple knowledge of the general direction of the industry.

In the future, I will definitely continue to work in this industry, and I will rise to a higher level, and I must go higher.

I apply the knowledge or perspectives I have learned, or the situations I have learned abroad, to my actual future.

  Chen Xuanbin reports from Chengdu

Editor in charge: [Ji Xiang]