A great-billed heron flaps its majestic wings as it settles on top of a concrete embankment, oblivious to the constant drone of bulldozers shoving muddy ash into a dump site. Colourful starfish and gritty crabs adorn the beach while coral reefs thrive close to the shore, from where tankers and other ships can be seen plying one of the world's busiest waterways.
Welcome to Semakau, which the Singapore government believes to be the world's first island made almost entirely from trash.
The 350-hectare offshore landfill, comprising two natural islets connected by a rock embankment, can hold 63 million cubic metres of rubbish, enough to accommodate Singapore's landfill needs until 2045. Towed by giant barges, more than 2,000 tonnes of waste, including construction debris and ash from incineration plants, are dumped onto the island every day.
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