While the Maldives have always shown 'paradise-like' beaches, the Island of Tilafushi has a municipal landfill.
Twenty-five years ago it was a pristine lagoon, but now Island of Tilafushi has turned into a landfill.
In December 1991, the authorities decided to arrange a landfill in the lagoon to cope with the growing problem of recycling garbage.
Huge pits were dug in the sand, and the garbage arriving from Male and from other inhabited islands was put into pits.
The area of Tilafushi grew, and the authorities began to lease land for various industries, including the production of boats, cement packaging.
Now Tilafushi has more than thirty factories, a mosque and about 150 migrants from Bangladesh who dig through 330 tons of garbage.
So much waste is brought here that the island grows per square meter per day.