Six-year-old Amy Lau received a Barbie interactive laptop computer worth HK$400 for her birthday. But the Grade One pupil already had a similar toy, so this one sat on top of a wardrobe until it was eventually thrown away during the annual Lunar New Year spring clean.
Amy's toy was one of thousands of games, soft and battery-operated toys and pieces of clothing to find their way to Hong Kong's rubbish dumps.
Crossroads International accepts high-quality goods Hongkongers no longer want and redistributes them to people in need around the world - from China and Africa to Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina and Lithuania. The organisation collects, or goods can be dropped off or delivered to its warehouse.
Spokesman David Begbie says Hong Kong's surplus can reach people in real need. 'In our experience, there never seems to be enough humanitarian dollars to meet need around the world. But things can be used to displace the need for money,' he says.
'I'm frequently amazed when I see 100-piece toy farm sets that come in new, brand-new telescopes still in their packaging, drum kits, violins, trumpets, large inflatable children's swimming pools. One brand-new Gor-Tex ski suit was donated simply because it was last season's style - but when you have children living in minus 40 degree temperatures, that's a lifesaver.'
There are countless heart-wrenching stories of local shipments relieving dire need. In one case, a Hong Kong shipment of used clothes and toys brought a dramatic change in the lives of children at an orphanage in the Balkans. Before, they wore prison-like striped uniforms and had no toys at all. The Hong Kong goods meant that, for the first time in their lives, the orphans had their own clothes and toys. In another instance, a brand-new US$20,000 playground set from a Hong Kong donor brought joy to a northern Uganda centre catering for thousands of orphans and child war victims who previously had no play equipment.