Waste Transfer Station Inaugurated in the Capital
Photo: President’s Office
Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology launched the Male’ Waste Transfer Station last night, financed by the government and Asian Development Bank (ADB), built to address issues of waste management and transportation to Thilafushi Island.
The newly developed station is described as a state-of-the-art facility by the administration, spanning 65,000 square feet. The station has a capacity to serve about 300 vehicles at a given time. Waste will be tipped directly from the vehicles to containers before being transported to Thilafushi for treatment. The government also reported that the facility has been designed to be environmentally friendly and meet international standards.
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Tonight Male Waste Transfer Station has been inaugrated by HE Vice President of the Maldives Mr Faisal Naseem. This state of the art facility was built under a grant aid from ADB. The facility has a capacity to serve approximately 300 vehicles at a given time. pic.twitter.com/rSrItZnXwJ— Min. of Environment, Climate Change and Technology (@MoEnvmv) August 28, 2023
Located in the Industrial Village of Male’ City, the station was inaugurated by Vice President Faisal Naseem, who addressed the issues of waste management in the Greater Malé area.
He stressed that currently, each person produces 1kg of waste per day.
During his address, VP also emphasised the relationship between the Maldivian economy and the environment. He stated that improper disposal of trash and plastic in the ocean and on beaches can have severe consequences on our biggest industry; tourism.
Waste management is one of the most pressing issues in the country. Burning of waste and improper disposal of waste into the ocean is commonplace.
Vice President @faisalnasym inaugurated the new Malé Waste Transfer Station, funded by the administration and the Asian Development Bank. The project aims to address the challenges of transferring and managing waste in Zone 3. pic.twitter.com/YygKbuxVvf— The President's Office (@presidencymv) August 28, 2023
Environmental organisations in the country have been vocal about the lack of proper direction and oversight of waste management, among whom is the local NGO Zero Waste Maldives.
“Infrastructure projects are needed but what is more important is that there is a push for waste reduction or else we will always fail at waste management at the end of the pipe,” said Afrah Ismail, Co-founder of Zero Waste Maldives, when asked to give a comment on the newly built waste transfer station.
How can #EPR ♻️ help small island nations #SIDS get rid of #plastic waste? JOIN US on 16 Aug, 8am CEST as @adelphi_berlin and @ZeroWasteMv present lessons learned from the Maldives, and valuable insights to empower other SIDS, with lead experts.
More➡️ https://t.co/zkt1Ap6ThZ pic.twitter.com/uIw8uAFIq9— Ocean Innovation Challenge (OIC) (@UNDPOceanInnov) July 31, 2023
Afrah, however, also highlighted that the new transfer station is a welcome upgrade to overcome the waste transfer bottleneck to Thilafushi.
“With the addition of a weighbridge to the facility, we hope that we can transition to a metered fee system based on waste generation and composition.”
