Eco filmmaker exposes Maldives' dark side: A paradise island with a huge waste problem

To thousands of tourists each year it’s the idyllic paradise where loved-up couples spend luxury honeymoons.

But eco champion filmmaker Alison Teal has exposed a darker side of the Maldives - as an island destination with a massive waste problem.

Alison, from Hawaii, was shocked the see the amount of plastic waste which washed up on the normally picture perfect white shores, and has filmed a shocking documentary exposing its huge swathes of rubbish.

Her footage shows mountains of plastic bottles littering the clear waters and picturesque beaches - some of which she says may have drifted all the way across from America.

Eco warrior Alison, 27, champions organisations which turn plastic into useful items such as bikinis.

She said: 'I would love to see plastic disappear from this world all together - particularly single use plastic such as bottles, straws, and plastic bags.

‘In the meantime, I would rather see it in bikinis, jackets, and eyewear than strewn across the beautiful beaches of the Maldives, and other beaches around the world.’

She added: 'I was overwhelmingly shocked by the amount of plastic rubbish which covered the uninhabited, picturesque island we stayed on.

‘This was only one island - I couldn't bear to imagine what the other 1,200 islands looked like, covered in rubbish.

'To leave the island we actually made a raft out of bottles. As we paddled to our rescue boat, I swore I would come back and do something about the plastic pollution.

Compelled to help out after witnessing the waste problem first hand, Alison took part in a beach clean-up, with a team of volunteers and now helps companies which make rubbish into clothes.

Alison said: 'I collected rubbish in an effort to save the highly threatened biosphere. In only half an hour, covering about 50 feet of beach we gathered a huge amount of plastic bottles which the villagers took great pride in making plastic fashion.

All rubbish collected in the Maldives is taken to 'Trash Island', or Thilafushi, an island landfill made entirely of waste.

Alison said: 'The landfill island is a sort of eerie, beautiful apocalyptic art piece.  Instead of looking at this wasteland as horrific, I see it as an opportunity to make a lot of pink bikinis!'