Streams of steaming trash have formed along the slopes leading down from Mon State’s Kyaiktiyo Pagoda – a famous destination for Buddhist pilgrims and international tourists. As the temple’s caretakers continue to toss the rubbish over the mountainside, rats and insects are joining the site’s human visitors in swarms.
Kyaiktiyo Pagoda’s roughly two million annual visitors produce an estimated two tons of trash every day in low season and five tons in high season. According to Dr. Aung Naing Oo, the deputy chair of the Mon State parliament, there is no system in place to remove it. Hotels, guesthouses, and restaurants just toss everything over the edge.
“Under previous administrations, there have been attempts – caretakers used to have to carry the waste down from the mountain via rubbish trucks. But it was highly inconvenient, especially during the holidays, because there is limited road space. “So, for now, their temporary solution is to dump it down the cliffs,” the MP told Eleven.
“There are three main spots where the garbage collects. It creates the perfect environment for rats and flies to breed. While the rodent and insect population hasn’t reached a problematic level, it definitely will in the future,” he said.
In May 2016, after the Myanmar Times first reported on the trash problem, the pagoda’s board of trustees announced that they had reintroduced the system of removing rubbish by truck and were developing a system to burn it in dug-out holes, but these plans were short-lived.
The pagoda now employs 54 trash collectors, but they say there’s no way they can collect all the trash, especially in peak season.
Dr. Aung Naing Oo has called on the Mon State government to partner with residents, businesses, and caretakers to come up with an immediate solution. If they fail to come up with a plan soon, he said, said the swelling streams of trash will not only be a health and environmental hazard but also a blemish on Myanmar’s reputation.
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