"They Said 'Who Would Pay for This?'... But Orders Flood In as China's 'Novel Business' Takes Off"

Just Leave the Trash Bag at Your Door for Daily Pickup

600 Won Per Collection, 20,000 Won Monthly Subscription Fee

An unusual business model has emerged in China, where companies offer to take out people’s garbage for them in exchange for a monthly subscription fee. Targeting the busy lifestyles of modern people who want to save time and effort, the service is rapidly gaining traction.

An employee of a waste collection agency in China is collecting garbage. Photo by SCMP

According to a South China Morning Post (SCMP) report on September 15, a service has become very popular in China, where a customer simply leaves their garbage bag outside the front door and a contractor collects it and disposes of it at a designated location. The fee for a single collection is around 3 to 5 yuan, while the monthly subscription package—where the garbage is collected daily for a month—is priced at roughly 100 yuan.

Mihan, the founder of such a business in Hangzhou, said, "In just three days after launching, we received over 20 orders. In addition to garbage collection, we also offer other errand services such as proxy receipt of parcels." Another contractor, Fei, who operates in Zhāoxing, noted, "This service is also a great help to the elderly who live on upper floors and have mobility issues."

Busy Office Workers Chased by Strict Waste Sorting Schedules

When the service first appeared, some online communities questioned whether it was worth spending money on such a service, saying, “Why pay when you could just take out the trash on your way to work?”

In front of an apartment complex in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, eastern China, sanitation workers are organizing piles of trash that an elderly resident had stacked in front of their home. Business Insider

However, despite this skepticism, demand on the ground has been explosive. The main reason so many people choose these 'garbage proxy collection' services is that busy office workers have extremely limited windows for taking out their trash.

In major cities like Shanghai, certain apartment complexes strictly regulate trash disposal, allowing residents to take out their garbage only during designated hours—usually two hours in the morning and two in the evening, totaling just four hours a day. If they miss these slots, trash can quickly pile up, making such proxy services an attractive option.

Garbage collection site in a residential complex in Deshengmen, Xicheng District, Beijing. Photo by Chinadaily.com

Moreover, the contactless nature of the service is especially appealing to those who avoid social contact or who are dealing with depression and can only manage to dispose of waste late at night. As a result, this life-oriented service has become a practical solution for a wide range of residents.

Domestic Market Focuses More on 'Recycling'

Meanwhile, similar “garbage disposal proxy” services are drawing attention in Korea. 'Oneul Sugeo' (literally "Today Collection"), which collects leftover delivery food, used clothes, and broken small appliances, is a representative example.

'Oneul Sugeo,' with a cumulative membership of 750,000 people, currently operates in 25 regions across the Seoul metropolitan area. If you apply before 10 p.m., your items will be collected before 6 a.m. the next day. Unlike the subscription-based system in China, 'Oneul Sugeo' uses a pay-per-visit model: the basic fee is 2,500 won per visit, plus 140 won per 100 grams.

Summary of reviews for the domestic waste collection agency 'Covering.' Naver Blog @kongbongsuji89

Other popular services include 'Covering,' which handles difficult recycling tasks, and 'Bbaegi,' which makes it easy to dispose of large items via mobile app. In the past, to dispose of bulky waste, people had to visit their local administrative center or district office, pay a fee, and receive a sticker. Now, with these apps, the entire process can be completed conveniently online.

Users who have tried garbage proxy collection services in both countries are sharing positive feedback on social media, saying, "During hectic work seasons, I use it as often as early-morning grocery delivery," and "It improves my quality of life since they take care of hard-to-sort recyclables for me."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.