Nov 2, 2021 · The Maldives' Thilafushi island is also known as "trash island" because until this year, up to 700 tonnes of rubbish were dumped every day and burnt there, belching toxic fumes into the atmosphere.

Thilafushi (Dhivehi: ތިލަފުށި) is an artificial island created by government decision in 1991 [1] as a municipal landfill situated to the west of Malé, and is located between Kaafu Atoll's Giraavaru and Gulhifalhu of the Maldives.

In 1991, the Maldivian government transformed the Thilafushi, previously known as Thilafalhu, into a landfill. Today, the human-made island spans 124 acres , with the amount of deposited trash increasing ever since its creation.

May 19, 2022 · In the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, the government decided to do something rather drastic to fix this problem in the early 1990s: they built a new island for their trash....

Apr 7, 2023 · 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.

Mar 27, 2024 · The Thilafushi, the location of Maldives’s municipal landfill a few miles west of Male is the capital of Maldives and the most densely populated island on earth. Thilafushi, an artificial island 7km from the capital, is nicknamed Rubbish Island.

Mar 11, 2017 · Just a few miles west of Male, the capital city of Maldives, and one of the most densely populated islands on earth, lies the island of Thilafushi, the location of Maldives’s municipal landfill. But Thilafushi was not always a garbage island.

May 17, 2022 · Ironically, the highest spot above sea level in the country is made out of trash, piled meters higher above the rest of the islands on an enormous man-made lagoon landfill called Thilafushi.

Apr 3, 2022 · MALE: For years, the Maldives has been feeding a heaving mountain of trash on fire. Wicked, noxious smoke has belched from its burning surface, polluting the skies, showering the surrounding area...

Aug 29, 2023 · In the middle of the Maldives lies an artificial landfill called Thilafushi, the garbage island of the Maldives. Thiladushi is literally built on trash. It once was a lagoon. Then it was excavated and filled with garbage. The island daily receives tons of garbage like plastic items, metals, and clothes.