Yilan hotel ordered to clean up 'mountain' of plastic bottles on roof

Taipei, Feb. 11 (CNA) The owner of a hotel in Yilan's Jiaoxi Township was ordered to clean up more than 1,000 plastic bottles from their building's rooftop or face fines, following complaints from the neighbors.

According to news reports, the hotel owner's elderly mother has long used the building's sixth-floor rooftop to grow vegetables, and at some point began collecting plastic bottles to hold down fabric she used to cover the soil.

Over time, however, the collection of bottles grew to "mountain-like" proportions, causing neighbors to report the property owners to the county government over possible public health and safety violations, the reports said.

In a statement late Tuesday, the Yilan County government said it had sent officials from several agencies to jointly inspect the rooftop.

According to the statement, the officials discovered violations of the Building Act and Waste Disposal Act, and warned the owner to make improvements or face fines of NT$60,000 (US$1,904) to NT$300,000 under the former and NT$1,200 to NT$6,000 under the latter.

County government officials also instructed the building owner to clean up several containers filled with standing water, which can serve as breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes, and scheduled follow-up inspections to ensure compliance, the statement said.