For twenty years, Taiwan was known to the world as a "garbage island" - a dirty, smoggy, industrial place with polluted waterways, open refuse dumps and gray skies. This began to change in the 1990s as a new, more democratic government began to take its responsibility for environmental protection seriously. Vast infrastructure projects were undertaken, overhauling the country's refuse disposal and recycling. Before long, Taiwan's achievements had earned it a reputation for some of the cleanest streets and most effective recycling system on the planet. But in recent years, as the disposal infrastructure built in those days begins to show its age, the "garbage mountains" of old have begun piling up once again, and many warn that Taiwan is once again at a environmental crossroads. This episode ventures inside the once "garbage island" to understand its causes, its consequences and the solutions being built in real time.
This episode was produced in 2025.
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