MP for Hoarafushi Constituency Ahmed Saleem says resorts are allowed to dump perishables into the deep-sea by regulations but authorities need to change these regulations as the amount of such waste being dumped into the sea is increasing day by day.
In a tweet, MP Saleem said that resorts in the Maldives are estimated to generate some 389 tons of waster per day and that out of this waste 233 tons are organic waste.
He noted that although resorts are allowed to dump perishables into the deep-sea by regulations, his amount is likely to be beyond nature’s capacity to manage.
MP Saleem added that the regulations need to be revised.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed said the issue of resorts dumping their organic waste into the sea has now become a huge problem and predicted that it would only grow bigger as the number of resorts increases.
Also on Twitter, Nasheed said that surely there are better solutions, like composting or turning food waste into biogas.
He added that people holiday in the Maldives because of the beautiful natural environment but the country is besmirching that beauty at its own peril.
A regulation issued back in 2006 allows tourist resorts to dump their perishable waste into the deep-sea if there are no designated waste dumping sites nearby. The regulation stipulates that such waste must be dumped against the current and in a way that it would not wash up on the island shores.
But lately, resorts have been taken advantage of this regulation and have been dumping waste such as plastic bottles and bags into the sea. Many islands have also voiced concerns about such waste now washing up on their shores.
