This island is a toxic dump in the centre of paradise

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THILAFUSHI, LOCATED JUST a few miles west of the Maldivian capital of Malé, is a far cry from the white beaches and turquoise waters that surround it.

Once a pristine lagoon in the Indian Ocean, the artificial island now serves as a dumping ground for one of the most exclusive tourist destinations in the world.

Hundreds of tons of solid waste and toxic material from Malé and luxury hotels on nearby islands are unloaded on Thilafushi every day.

The amount of waste continues to grow as more and more tourists flock to the islands.

Maldivian native Hani Amir captured shocking images of Thilafushi, taken last year, that reveal the ugly side of paradise. He called it ‘God’s dirty little secret’ on his Flickr page.

This island is a toxic dump in the centre of paradise

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The island of Thilafushi is a short boat ride from Malé, the capital of the Maldives
It was originally a lagoon called Thilafalhu
In 1992 the area was reclaimed and transformed into an artificial landfill to solve Malé's waste crisis
The ever-growing rubbish problem was brought on by an increasing number of tourists to the Maldives
Today, ships of rubbish from the capital and nearby luxury resorts are sent daily to the island
That's more than 330 tons of rubbish every day
Thilafushi accommodates only a few boats at a time for unloading, at times creating waits of up to seven hours
Scrap metal, plastic bottles and cardboard boxes are sent to different zones
In December 2011, impatient boaters started dumping rubbish in the lagoon - the island had to be temporarily closed for a clean-up
150 Bangladeshi men live and work at the dump
Engineers originally dug huge pits to bury the rubbish
The volume of waste eventually became too large to cover by sand
Some plastic and metal is recycled
Some of the waste is burned
Potentially hazardous materials such as used batteries, lead, asbestos and mercury are not isolate
As the island sits just one metre above sea level, there are fears for water contamination
The island is now home to several dozen factories for boat manufacturing, methane bottling and cement packing

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All images by Hani Amir

- Dina Spector

The island of Thilafushi is a short boat ride from Malé, the capital of the Maldives

It was originally a lagoon called Thilafalhu

In 1992 the area was reclaimed and transformed into an artificial landfill to solve Malé's waste crisis

The ever-growing rubbish problem was brought on by an increasing number of tourists to the Maldives

Today, ships of rubbish from the capital and nearby luxury resorts are sent daily to the island

That's more than 330 tons of rubbish every day

Thilafushi accommodates only a few boats at a time for unloading, at times creating waits of up to seven hours

Scrap metal, plastic bottles and cardboard boxes are sent to different zones

In December 2011, impatient boaters started dumping rubbish in the lagoon - the island had to be temporarily closed for a clean-up

150 Bangladeshi men live and work at the dump

Engineers originally dug huge pits to bury the rubbish

The volume of waste eventually became too large to cover by sand

Some plastic and metal is recycled

Some of the waste is burned

Potentially hazardous materials such as used batteries, lead, asbestos and mercury are not isolate

As the island sits just one metre above sea level, there are fears for water contamination

The island is now home to several dozen factories for boat manufacturing, methane bottling and cement packing

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.