Green fund for waste management

One of the biggest movements in the Maldives this year appears to be the move towards being a more eco-friendly and sustainable country. With several sustainable products and activities being carried out, one of the biggest steps that were taken this year in the Maldives was the move towards waste segregation in order to reduce, reuse and recycle.

While it started out very strong, many pointed out the flaws in the plan very early on. Starting with the lack of awareness down to not providing the public with the necessary equipment in order to start segregating waste, it appeared that the Government of the Maldives took a leap before taking the baby steps. It seemed that no one was surprised when the waste segregation and waste management activities only lasted for a good two weeks before everyone went back to the old ways.

One thing that came out of this leap, however, was that it showed the public did care about waste management. The youth was extremely involved in giving their feedback on how to improve the measures being taken and how these measures can be better implemented to ensure a long-term plan that will be followed through by the public. 

One of the biggest issues that were highlighted by island Councils when it comes to waste management was the high cost of the process. With the lack of funding being put into waste segregation, the Maldives appears to lack a proper plan for any of the islands to follow.

In order to bring a solution to this problem, the Government has decided to open a green fund for waste management in 2023. According to the Ministry of Environment, Climate change and Technology, the fund for the waste management project will be allocated from the Green tax proceeds and will be allocated to the council of each island so that the islands can manage their own waste instead of depending on the central government.