Young employees at a Longgang water company have been raising money from recycling to help poor children in Guizhou Province. 

The 14 young people work at the Kuicong Water Company in Longgang District. 

The plan was initiated by the company's general manager in March 2006, asking members of the youth league to do their bit to create an energy-saving enterprise, according to Jiang Shanqin, secretary of the company committee of the Communist Youth League of China. 

"Our first thought was to collect used paper and newspapers from offices. We collected 50 kilograms of waste paper and 50 kilograms of newspapers on the first day," Jiang was quoted by the Daily Sunshine as saying yesterday. 

"In our company, we often use chlorine or other disinfectants to purify water. During the rainy season we use around 2,000 bags of the chemicals a month in the purification of water. So we started to collect the empty bags," said Jiang. Rusty pipes, plastic and other scrap is also collected by the young workers. 

"Recycling waste can easily become a part of your thinking as long as you are conscious of environmental protection, especially when you see the waste can be turned into treasure," said Jiang. 

By February, the young workers had collected 260 kilograms of waste newspapers and cardboard, 412 kilograms of plastic bags and three tons of used pipes. They earned 13,250 yuan (US$1,708) after selling all the waste they'd collected. 

With the money, the workers came up with the idea of setting up a fund exclusively to help children in poverty-stricken areas. Five students in Luodian County, Guizhou Province became the first beneficiaries of the fund in March. 

"I was deeply moved by some charity events held in those regions to financially assist poor children. I could feel the happiness reflected on their faces when they received textbooks and stationery for their studies. The children were eager to go to school but their families couldn't afford it," said Jiang.

(Shenzhen Daily June 14, 2007)