Given the fact that we will be served three meals a day in the Main Restaurant, and as far as I can tell there aren’t herds of cows and sheep strolling around the island, or extensive fruit orchards, fields of vegetables, vineyards or breweries, where does the food and drink on Meedhupparu Island come from? Seemingly from the picture above it’s delivered by boat. Given that the resort is owned by Aitken Spence, a Sri Lankan conglomerate, who apart from being the largest international hotel chain in the Maldives also have a substantial logistics business, it seems likely that the food and drink comes from nearby Sri Lanka.
So where does all the waste go? Well the answer is to Rubbish Island, or Thilafushi. If one sees an advertisement for an all-inclusive holiday on the Maldivian paradise island of Thilafushi, don’t be fooled. According to The Guardian’s South Asia correspondent, writing in 2009, the island is growing at a rate of a square meter a day. He also states that “…Every tourist produces 3.5kg of rubbish and requires 500 litres of water a day.” What? Surely to God I’m not expected to drink 500 litres of water a day no matter how hot and humid it is!
Back to Google... On the basis that an average shower uses about 15 litres of water a minute – a 33 minute shower would get your consumption up to 495 litres – leaving you 5 litres of water left to drink. If you consider laundry services, dishwashing and watering the garden that 500 litres is probably quite accurate. Who’d have thought it, eh? Can you imagine if you had to haul 3,500 one-litre bottles of water back from the supermarket every week? I struggle with 25 litres of beer! But beer doesn't come in plastic bottles and the glass and aluminium that it does come in are both recyclable.
And, whilst I'm on the subject of environmentalism, I propose that cigarette manufacturers should implant cigarette filters with tobacco seeds. That way every dropped biodegradable dog-end would sprout into a new plant; releasing clean oxygen into the atmosphere.
Right, that's my environmental consciousness satiated.
On the other hand, if your island is threatened with being washed away, you could always swim to Rubbish Island. There's probably food there, and something to float on.
ReplyDeleteAs you can see, I'm making up for lost time and working down the posts. I'll shut up now.