Waste Management Corporation (WAMCO) has revealed it will be bringing in a new vehicles for waste collection after the development of the Male’ Waste Transfer Station.
WAMCO stated that new vehicles will be used to collect and transport segregated waste from households and that households should expect positive changes in waste management operations after the first quarter.
WAMCO implemented the policy of segregating waste before collection from households in July last year. However, the segregated waste bags are collected and transported together using trucks and the company has addressed concerns by stating that the bags are separated once again at the waste management site.
Managing Director Yoosuf Siraj said that 14 vehicles will be added to the WAMCO fleet after the development of the Male’ Waste Transfer Station in Zone 3. He said that the vehicles will be used for operations in Male’ City and Hulhumale’ and that the waste bags collected from households will be separated when they are loaded into the vehicles.
The Male’ Waste Transfer Station is expected to begin operations in July. It will include an administrative block that WAMCO and other authorities can use to monitor the system, as well as pickup trucks and other resources. The facility has the means to measure and transfer waste from the decks of its five waste tipping bays into containers, replacing the transfer of waste via barges, which tend to leak waste into the ocean.
The project to develop the Male’ Waste Transfer Station is a joint venture between the government of the Maldives and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia, and the Pacific (JFPR). The Male’ Waste Transfer Station and the adjoining administrative block are constructed as part of the Greater Male’ Environmental Improvement and Waste Management Project intended for the Greater Male’ Region and Zone 3. The station is expected to revolutionise waste management in Male’ City and includes waste tipping decks, an administrative building, and a weighbridge to monitor and track waste statistics before being transferred to Thilafushi.