But the group of atolls is only 115 square miles and it needs some place to store its garbage, away from the watchful eyes and sensitive noses of visitors to its tourist resorts. In 1992, the tropical paradise came up with a solution. It created an artificial island, Thilafushi, the largest in the world devoted solely to stashing trash.  

 

Environmentalists say that 330 tons of rubbish a day, much of it from the resorts, is routinely shipped to Thilafushi, just a short boat ride from the capital, Malé. But that ended, at least temporarily, this past week when the dumping of waste at “Rubbish Island” was banned until the island could be tidied up and regulations drafted to control overflowing garbage that is spilling into the sea.

 

Many of the boats that bring trash to Thilafushi have reportedly been dumping it directly into the lagoon to avoid up to a 7-hour wait to unload on shore. The island has been described as vast piles of rubbish with perpetual smog and smoke.

 

The Maldives and Thilafushi, however, may soon have larger environmental problems to deal with than pollution. Its 395,000 residents face being submerged under rising sea levels caused by global warming. “Rubbish Island” and most of the Maldives are only 1 meter (3.2 feet) above sea level, lowest in the world. In 2008, the nation announced it was creating a fund to move the entire population elsewhere in the future.

–Ken Broder

 

Paradise Lost on Maldives' Rubbish Island (by Randeep Ramesh, The Guardian)

The 12 Coolest Artificial Islands on Earth (Business Insider)

The World Factbook (Central Intelligence Agency)

Entire Nation Plans to Move (AllGov)