Maldives’ Thilafushi – the story of a trash island’s journey to sustainable waste management

Thilafushi in the Maldives is nothing like your usual tourist destination. For all we know, it may not even be a full-fledged “destination”. Here’s why – Thilafushi is an artificial island located in the Maldives.
It is situated close to Malé, the capital city of the Maldives. Thilafushi was created in the 1990s as a landfill site to dispose of the Maldives' waste. Today, it is a hub for waste management and recycling, and it also has a growing industrial sector. How the tables turned for this one!
Thilafushi is often referred to as a "trash island" or a "rubbish island" because it was originally created as a landfill to handle the Maldives' waste.   As the population of the Maldives grew and tourism increased, so did the amount of waste generated. Yes, that’s the ugly side of tourism.
Over time, Thilafushi became a dumping ground for all kinds of waste, including hazardous materials like batteries and electronics. The island quickly became overwhelmed with waste, and the landfill began to spill over into the surrounding waters, causing environmental damage to the marine ecosystem. No surprise there!

But here’s that twist – today, though Thilafushi is still used as a waste management and recycling center, efforts are being made to improve the island's infrastructure and reduce the impact of waste on the environment.
As we have mentioned earlier, Thilafushi is not your typical tourist destination, as it is primarily an industrial and waste management hub rather than a place for leisure or recreation. But now, with ardent efforts to change things, if you are someone who is interested in environmental issues and want to see firsthand how waste is managed and recycled, Thilafushi could be an interesting place to visit.
This is made possible by the efforts of concerned citizens and various environmental agencies who are constantly finding out ways to use the waste. The people are really serious about “Reuse. Reduce, Recycle”