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Philippines - Garbage

NPR's Eric Weiner reports that new Philippines' President Arroyo has called a summit on garbage -- a problem that has reached crisis proportions in Manila. The capital city is awash in trash, partly because only six percent of Manila's garbage is recycled, far less than in European and American cities. The garbage is piled into mountainous dumps, one of which is more than 100 feet high. The dump, known as "the promised land," provides a livelihood, of sorts, for thousands of scavengers. It also is extremely dangerous. Last summer, it collapsed, killing at least 200 people.

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