Activists Call for Gov't Action on Large Trash Piles Around Taiwan
Environmental activists are seeking a meeting with Taiwan's premier to discuss action on the massive heaps of trash piling up around the country. They say fast action is needed on these "trash mountains" create a nasty stench and pollute local water sources.
Transcript
00:00Dressed head-to-toe in garbage and tired of inaction,
00:04these protesters say they're waiting for a meeting with Taiwan's premier, Chou Rung-tai.
00:09They want answers about a nationwide problem, trash mountains.
00:13Taiwan produces so much trash that its waste incinerators can't keep up.
00:18And the trash is piling up in temporary dumps,
00:21one to two stories high, while waiting to be burned.
00:25The trash mountains can be smelled from a long way away,
00:29pollute local water resources, and create fire hazards.
00:33One 10-meter tall trash mountain in northern Taiwan
00:36recently caught fire for the second time in less than eight months.
00:41And activists say they've had enough.
00:43There are at least 107 of these temporary trash dumps spread throughout the country.
00:59And they're estimated to hold 840,000 tons of garbage,
01:03equal to the weight of nearly 8.5 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.
01:08And the problem is likely to get worse,
01:10as the average amount of trash each person in Taiwan produces is actually increasing.
01:15And government officials don't paint a rosy picture.
01:24This hazy time frame is why these activists want a meeting with the premier.
01:28And while Zhuo didn't show up himself, other cabinet staff did.
01:40But the protesters found the response lacking.
02:11The premier may not have answered questions from activists this time,
02:19but with years of trash still left to burn,
02:22neither these trash mountains nor the public pressure to deal with them are going away.
02:27Chris Ma and Chris Gorin for Taiwan Plus.