The world is full of beautiful places where tourists flock to. Due to this exces- sive tourism in these locations, such as the Maldives, have been defaced with trash left behind.
According to Sophia Forbes of Yahoo Travel, seven billion people that produce 1.7 billion tons of trash each year inhabit Earth. These statistics are only going to go up as 100,000 people are born each day. By the year of 2025, the amount of waste produced annually will exceed 2.2 billion tons.
This alarming amount of trash is not always properly disposed, resulting in a build up of unwanted trash. Waste is starting to infiltrate glorious getaway spots and destroying their beauty.
According to Sophia Forbes of Yahoo Travel, “More than 750,000 people head to the Maldives every year bringing an influx in waste with them.”
Tourism is the main cause of the destruction of significant historical and beautiful destinations.
“Waste buildup around the world is disgusting and is a major cause for the destruction of major destination spots. Something needs to be done or the world will have no tourist spots left,” senior Aaron Gates said.
Beautiful places have been destroyed by trash build up. In 1992, the government allocated an island in the Maldives, Thilafushi.
According Sophia Forbes of Yahoo travel, Thilafushi was used from 1992-2011 as a dump for all of the countries waste. “The Rubbish Island” used to be a beautiful lagoon
with coral reefs and crystal clear waters. Now, it is a toxic dump containing more than 124 acres of trash trans- ported and burned daily.
“I think it’s horrible that a beautiful place like this island was used as a dump for so long. The island won’t recover from constant dumping and won’t return to it’s previous state of beauty,” freshman Lauren Vandenbush said.
The island became a major bio-hazard as toxic waste and smoke filled the air. Dumping on the island stopped in 2011 after ships began dumping waste into the ocean.
Thilafushi is just one example of how trash buildup across the world has ruined beautiful places. Surprisingly, Mount Everest has become a trash heap as well. Each year, roughly 300 people attempt to scale Mount Everest. Over the years climbers have left a trail of waste leading to the mountain being called, “the world’s highest junkyard.”
Climbers of Mount Everest have left behind equipment, tents, plastic bottles, clothes and a disgusting amount of human feces in base camps and climbing routes. The toxins on the mountain threaten the ecosystem and surrounding areas, which could spread disease to local communities living by the mountain.
Trash buildup across the world is a major problem and threatens the lives of many.
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