Pacific islands face drowning in heaps of discarded trash

[dArKeR]

Once famed for their white-sand beaches, the islands of the Pacific are threatened by a waste mountain. Rubbish now clogs streams flowing into the harbor in Samoa's capital Apia, and floats through the mangrove forests of Fiji.

Every part of the region is affected. And one of the biggest battles in many island societies, say experts, is raising awareness of the problem.

Traditional waste disposal in the Pacific consisted of throwing food scraps to pigs, but swelling populations and the import of foreign goods have changed the makeup of domestic rubbish.


http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/11/16/2003211281