Households, businesses that fail to separate waste face fines

Environment Ministry has amended the waste management regulation, allowing authorities to fine people who fail to separate their waste. 

The regulation dictates that waste from households, buildings, offices and other official locations must be separated as declared in the regulation. 

Waste from residential islands and cities outside Male’ City, industrial islands, resorts, and other locations that produce waste must be separated into four categories. 

CATEGORIES OF WASTE: 

• Compostable waste 

• Biodegradable waste 

• Plastic bottles, metals and glass 

• Others 

Meanwhile, waste in Male’ City must be separated into compostable waste, biodegradable waste and plastic bottles. Other types of waste must also be put out separately, states the regulation. 

The amendment to the regulation states that authorized waste collectors who transport waste via land and sea must hereafter must transport waste separately, without combining the different categories. 

The amendment prescribes fines for parties that fail to separate waste. 

Households that fail to separate waste will be fined MVR 300 the first time, and MVR 500 for repeated violation. 

Meanwhile, waste producers in councils, local businesses, yachts, liveaboards and state institutions will be fined MVR 500 for the first violation, MVR 700 for second violation and MVR 1,000 for repeated violation. 

Waste producers in industrial islands and resorts will be fined MVR 1,000 for the first violation, MVR 1,500 for second violation, and MVR 2,000 for repeated violation.