Fairmont Maldives Resort Unveils Sustainability Lab

Private island resort Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi has launched Sustainability Lab – a first of its kind in the archipelago.

Continuing its environmental commitment for the resort, The Sustainability Lab turns plastic waste into bespoke souvenirs and unique products.

 

 

Guests will be educated on sustainable practices, helping the resort achieve its goal of becoming the first zero waste generating resort in the Maldives.

Specialised machinery in the Sustainability Lab will transform and repurpose plastic waste into souvenirs, including luggage tags in the shape of turtles.

 

 

After plastics have been collected from the beach, reef, and ocean, they are separated alongside glass and aluminium, before a series of machines are used to shred, melt, shape and press it into various products.

The Sustainability Lab will eventually become a recycling centre in the atoll and beyond.

Surrounding islands will be encouraged to collect, sort, and recycle their plastic waste by sending it to Fairmont Maldives rather than placing it in landfill or to be disposed of in the ocean.

 

 

Schools will be vested to teach classes on recycling, marine biodiversity, and ocean conservation, as well as visiting the resort to see the Sustainability Lab and the conservation projects in action on the island.

 

 

Fairmont Maldives has partnered with the Olive Ridley Project, a Maldives-based NGO focused on turtle research, and launched the Turtle Ranger Programme.

 

 

Guests can join the marine biologist to protect turtle nests, assisting hatchlings in their journey from nest to ocean, and rescuing turtles stuck in ghost nets.

 

 

Turtle Rangers also carry out workshops in the Sustainability Lab, converting plastic removed during beach cleaning into turtle shaped products.