An unusual rubbish island a hope for the Earth? - video

What Singapore does with its rubbish should be an example to follow, for the whole world to follow. The city-state located in Southeast Asia has created a vibrant island that is also a tourist resort, with coral reefs surrounded by clear waters, all created from… a mountain of rubbish.

How Singapore deals with its rubbish is truly fascinating. In a pioneering project, it has managed to create an island that is actually an ecological landfill. The whole thing was designed by environmentalists and engineers from Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA).

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Established in 1999, the landfill cost about $400 million and can hold up to 63 million cubic metres of waste, which is enough for Singapore to dispose of its rubbish here by 2040.

Are you curious how it works? Rubbish goes to an incinerator where it is turned into ash and then sent to an island as construction material. The water between the two islands is divided into cells. These in turn are drained before the ash fills them. They are then covered with soil so that birds and insects can pollinate and feed the plants.

Before the whole thing fills with water, the sewage treatment plant makes sure that everything is properly treated. The whole thing is also lined with an impermeable membrane to prevent harmful substances from entering the surrounding water.

Unusually, the landfill attracts many rare species of birds and animals. As it turns out, it is one of the best places for bird watching in Singapore. In a world where more ecosystems are literally dying by the minute, a place like this offers a glimmer of hope that we have not yet lost the battle for our planet.

Source: nytimes.com

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