Malé, Maldives
Tackling Maldives’ Trash Island
40K TONS OF CO₂ EMISSIONS REDUCED ANNUALLY maldives
Inhabitants 533,900 GDP per capita $10,791 Geographic area 300 km²
THE CHALLENGE For the past 30 years, solid waste generated in the Greater Malé area has been dumped with no treatment and burned in the open on the industrial island of Thilafushi.
Co-benefits
After 30 years of dumping solid waste, Maldives’ capital city and surrounding islands are investing in a more sustainable waste management system to reduce emissions, improve resilience, and protect local fishing and tourism industries. The Greater Malé region is on the way to establishing a more sustainable waste management system to replace a dumpsite on a nearby island that has been a health and environmental hazard for 30 years. To improve waste management in the Greater Malé region and its neighboring outer islands, the Government of Maldives, through the Ministry of Environment, is implementing a two-phased project stretching to 2026. The project is financed through a combination of grants and loans from ADB, a loan from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, government financing, and a $10 million grant from the ADB-administered Japan Fund for the Joint Crediting Mechanism, a special fund set up by the Government of Japan to incentivize low-carbon investments. The first phase will invest $40 million in improved waste collection, transfer, and disposal, as well as awareness raising and behavior change around sustainable solid waste management. The second phase will invest a further $151 million in a climate-resilient waste treatment facility, including a waste– to–energy plant and improved landfill for treatment residues, as well as improving institutional capacity.
Social The project includes improved waste management for poor outer island communities, including skills training and awareness and behavior change campaigns for sustainable solid waste management.
Maldives’ waste management plans. The initiatives aim to completely rehabilitate Thilafushi, the current “trash island” where waste is being dumped (photo by Water Solutions Pvt. Ltd.).
Health Adopting more sustainable waste management practices will improve public and environmental health, especially for women and the poor. Environmental The project will decrease the amount of leachate and solid waste-like plastics that currently enter the sea from the trash island, improving ocean health. Economic The project will reduce ocean pollution and positively impact the tourism and fishery sectors, two cornerstones of Maldives’ economy.
122 100 CLIMATE ACTIONS FROM CITIES IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
