The existing environment of the scraps collecting eldely in Hong Kong: a perspective of social exclusion

Abstract

This study adopted a social exclusion framework to exam the living environment of elder people who collect waste materials to making their living in Hong Kong. Questionnaire survey was carried out among 96 older respondents; and in-depth interviews were conducted among 17 interviewees. The results of the study showed that older people who collect waste materials for financial return experienced various types of social exclusion, which were economic exclusion (e.g. lack of job opportunities and lack of consuming power), political exclusion (e.g. lack of collective protection from organizations such as union and /or non-government association), social exclusion (e.g. being discriminated and /or feel lonely), and welfare exclusion (e.g. not eligible for or not willing to apply for social security).

本研究基于对96位60岁或以上的拾荒老人的问卷调查和17名老人的深度访谈,揭示了拾荒老人这一特殊群体的基本生活图景,并辨识出他们面对各种不同形式的社会排斥,包括经济排斥(缺乏工作机会与消费能力)、政治排斥(缺乏工会/机构保护其利益)、社会关系排斥(因拾荒而受到歧视或生活孤独)和福利排斥(没有领取社会保障金和无法企及社会福利服务)。