The Maldives Trash Island
The Maldives’ azure waters and remote atoll beaches are clearly its primary tourist draw. While holing up at a resort would certainly be a more relaxing option, there’s another site in the Maldives that speaks to the challenges of small island living and the heavy toll of the very tourists sitting at resorts. The artificial island of Thilafushi is essentially a giant, smoldering pile of trash that began to build in 1992. The island expanded outwards and upwards, even becoming a site for other industrial activities. Though dumping was temporarily halted in 2011, it was restarted and garbage—some of it toxic—continues to pile up.
Too often, tourism’s deleterious impacts on the environment—from cruises to plane travel—is all but invisible. Waste generated by resorts is also often conveniently swept under the rug. But Thilafushi—which can actually be seen from the air by flights landing in the Maldives—is one of those places that makes it impossible to ignore.
