Waste collection facilities to be completed this year
In June 2022, the Government signed the paperwork to construct a waste transfer station in Male’ City, making it easier to transport waste without polluting the beautiful waters of the Maldives.
In an effort to reach its sustainability goal, the Maldives has been moving towards greener initiatives. One of the major steps that were taken by the Maldivian Government towards this initiative was when the Waste Management Corporation Limited (WAMCO) started the move towards proper waste management at the start of 2022.
Though, we now know that the plans to instil the waste segregation values into the Maldivian public did not go as planned due to lack of information and execution without proper first steps, the introduction of waste segregation was a major step towards building a more sustainable future for the Maldives. Since this initiative, a lot of households started and still continue to segregate their waste, meaning that this was not a complete failure and the Government can still save this initiative by carrying out proper implementation and educating the public.
This, however, is not the only waste-related issue that the Maldives face. Everyone from locals to tourists know that the Maldives has a trash land or Thilafushi. Thilafushi is the wasteland where all the waste from the Greater Male’ Area, meaning Male’ Hulhumale’, Villimale’ and all the nearby resorts are taken to and disposed of. One major concern with this process is the moving of the trash, as it requires WAMCO to collect all the waste and put it on a boat that takes it to Thilafushi, and during this short trip, it is not uncommon for some of the waste to fall into the ocean causing some major pollution issues.
In order to find some resolution to such issues, the Maldivian Government started developing waste transfer stations, two of which already exist in Hulhumale’ and Villimale’. And on June 2022, the Government also signed the paperwork to construct a similar waste transfer station in Male’ City, making it easier to transport waste without polluting the beautiful waters of the Maldives.
In addition to facilitating a better method of disposing of waste, this waste transfer station would also include a seven-story office building for the ministry’s waste department, WAMCO as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). With the office buildings already being completed, the Environment Minister has stated that she is expecting the facility to be up and running by July of this year, hopefully making it easier to transport the excessive amounts of waste from Male’ to Thilafushi.
