WAMCO chief says waste in Hulhumalé lagoon linked to liveaboard vessels

Waste floating in the Hulhumalé lagoon is not the result of negligence by the Waste Management Corporation (WAMCO), Managing Director Mujthaba Jaleel has said.

Mujthaba made the remarks on Monday after Galolhu Uthuru MP Mohamed Ibrahim questioned WAMCO over waste entering the lagoon during waste disposal operations in Hulhumalé.

Responding in a Facebook post while sharing a Dhauru news report on the matter, Mujthaba said the waste found in the lagoon has little or no connection to WAMCO's operations. He added that operators of safari vessels anchored in the lagoon would be aware of the situation.

According to Mujthaba, most of the debris found in the lagoon consists of plastic waste.

He said plastic bottles collected in Hulhumalé by environmental organisations Parley and MOPA are gathered in net bags and jumbo bags before being crushed and compressed.

"The bottles found floating in the Hulhumalé lagoon are dumped as whole, uncompressed bottles," Mujthaba wrote.

He also noted that safari vessels do not dispose of their waste directly at WAMCO's transfer station.

"In that case, we must investigate where that waste is actually going," he said.

Mujthaba said maintaining and cleaning the Hulhumalé lagoon is not a statutory responsibility of WAMCO. However, he said the corporation operates a dinghy three days a week to collect floating waste as a public service, with the support of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC).

He added that WAMCO and HDC are working together to keep the lagoon clean and urged those raising concerns to take those efforts into account.

WAMCO's waste transfer station is located near the channel between Hulhumalé Phase I and Phase II. Waste floating in the area is sometimes carried into the Hulhulé lagoon by sea currents.

Last week, HDC allocated a temporary plot of land to WAMCO to assist with waste management operations in Hulhumalé.