The Sicilian town of Castelbuono has replaced garbage trucks with donkeys. The town wants to save money as well as help the environment.
Since last February, six donkeys have replaced the four garbage trucks in the town of 10,000 people.
By replacing garbage trucks with donkeys "we are making savings and making the world a better place," Castelbuono mayor Mario Cicero said.
PHOTO:AFP
A donkey costs around 1,200 euros (NT$56,000) to buy, plus about 2,000 euros a year for food and cleaning. A garbage truck costs about 30,000 euros and needs about 7,000 euros per year for maintenance, Cicero added.
The donkeys have picked up nearly 140 tonnes of garbage, according to the mayor.
Each carrying two wooden boxes, the donkeys are accompanied by garbage men.
Several other towns in Italy are believed to have followed Castelbuono's lead.(Staff Writer, with AFP)
義大利西西里島的一個小鎮Castelbuono用驢子取代垃圾車收垃圾，因為他們認為這個措施既省錢又環保。
自從去年二月開始，這個僅有一萬名居民的小鎮就以六頭驢子代替了原先的四輛垃圾車。
利用驢子來代替垃圾車收垃圾，「不但節省經費，也為地球盡一份力，」Castelbuono鎮鎮長馬力歐．西塞羅說。
西塞羅說，買一頭驢子大概要花一千兩百歐元（約合新台幣五萬六千元），外加一年約兩千歐元的飼料和清潔費。添購一輛垃圾車的費用約三萬歐元，而且每年還得花七千歐元左右的維修費用。
據鎮長表示，這四頭驢子已收拾了將近一百四十公噸的垃圾。
每頭驢子揹著兩只木箱子，並由一位清潔隊員陪同去收垃圾。
據信，義大利其他一些城鎮也已效法Castelbuono鎮這項措施。（法新社／翻譯：袁星塵）
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