KODHIPPARU, MALDIVES — Grand Park Kodhipparu, Maldives, (GPKD) is a luxury resort in the Maldives. This all inclusive resort comprises 120 beach-front villas, three food service outlets, a recreation and fitness center, and a watersports center. 

Park Hotel Group is a hospitality conglomerate based in Singapore and typically manages, owns and develops hotels in the Asia-Pacific region. Grand Park Kodhipparu, Maldives, is Park Hotel Group’s first property based in the Republic of the Maldives. Maldives is a unique set of islands situated in the Indian Ocean.

Each resort is typically hosted on its own island. Most of the islands stand about one metre (3.5’) above sea level and are particularly susceptible to the dangers of rising sea levels from global warming.

Due to ongoing sustainable development and growing awareness of the impact that food waste has on the Earth, the Grand Park Kodhipparu, Maldives sought a long term solution. In July 2022, the LFC-70 biodigester was installed in their staff kitchen cafeteria where it has already digested more than 1700 kg of organic waste.

Self sufficiency on a small island

Tourism contributes to 28% of the Maldives’s GDP and 20% of direct employment opportunities. With tourism comes high foot traffic and waste generated from the guests. Organic waste comprises 89% of all waste being generated in the Maldives

The Republic of the Maldives lacks infrastructure and connections to municipal sources of energy and water. Each resort is responsible for its own electricity, water, supply chain, and waste management services. 

In October 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency began investigating reports on illegal waste dumping by a major resort in the Maldives. A diver, Iqbal Bilal, exposed numerous bags of organic waste that had been illegally dumped into the ocean. His actions brought attention to the issue. 

Local residents of the Maldives began protesting heavily as illegal dumping of waste into the ocean was not an isolated incident, but a common practice by many resorts. This was due to a legal loophole where the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) permitted disposal of waste into the sea in instances where there was no other location to dispose waste nearby. Consequently, MATI amended the law and began heavily enforcing stricter regulations and fines.

2022 Sustainability Management Plan

Grand Park Kodhipparu, Maldives is a Green Globe certified resort. The Green Globe certificate is given only to resorts that operate at the world’s highest environmental standards. Grand Park Kodhipparu has a dedicated resort sustainability “Green Team” that is responsible for ensuring that effective ongoing environmental and sociocultural sustainability measures are in place and performance monitored. 

Environmental preservation is of deep importance to their staff as it is critical to maintaining the livelihood of their everyday life and surroundings. The resort island is also part of a sensitive coral reef ecosystem — including nationally protected species such as corals, turtles, and dolphins. With stricter regulations around the disposal of food waste, Grand Park Kodhipparu, Maldives began looking for a long term solution.

Executive Chef Raymond spoke to colleagues from Singapore and Taiwan who suggested that a food waste biodigester would be a good investment. Raymond heard about Power Knot from colleagues and was invited in a webinar in late 2021 where he learned about the LFC biodigester and how it was helping other resorts in the Maldives such as Dusit Thani and Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru. 

The LFC biodigester is a machine that digests food waste and turns it into water. These machines are usually installed in a commercial kitchen and reduce the expense, inconvenience, mess, and carbon footprint of disposing of food waste that would otherwise be dumped into the ocean.

Based on his findings, Raymond concluded that the LFC biodigester would be the most suitable solution for Grand Park Kodhipparu, Maldives. In July 2022, the LFC-70 biodigester was installed in the staff kitchen cafeteria as a trial machine where it has already digested more than 1700 kg of organic waste.

Grand Park Kodhipparu, Maldives 2022 Sustainability Management Plan reveals a high level incorporation of the LFC biodigester into future measures:

• Wastewater treatment to enable reuse of grey water after treatment for on-site irrigation
• Dry and wet solid waste generated in resort operations and disposed on a weekly basis is tracked and recorded at a bulk level

The LFC biodigester’s output is grey water which can be treated and used to help irrigate gardens and local plants. The weight of the waste placed inside the LFC biodigester is automatically recorded and sent to the LFC Cloud, Power Knot’s continuous data analytics program. This data allows Grand Park Kodhipparu, Maldives to track how much food waste is being digested and generate reports for MATI and shareholders.