Biogas plant capable of treating 1,000 MT wet waste to come up in Mumbai

In October 2022, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurated in Punjab’s Sangrur district a compressed-biogas plant that will produce 33 tonnes of gas from 300 tonnes of paddy straw daily.

Mumbai generates 6,000 tonnes of solid waste, and of this, wet waste, which includes damp, organic and degradable waste, constitutes 3,500 tonnes. The remaining is dry waste, including non-degradable items like plastic.

“The proposed plant will have a maximum capacity of treating 1,000 MT of wet waste every day, which will be nearly one-third of the wet waste generated regularly. The basic idea behind setting up this plant is to recycle the city’s waste for a useful purpose,” said an official.

Civic officials said the BMC’s job would be to collect wet waste from bulk-waste generators like hotels, banquets halls and vegetable markets. After segregation, the waste would be sent to the plant for processing.

The BMC has provided land for setting up the plant, while MGL will install equipment for biogas production. Civic sources said the Deonar plot was finalised after three land parcels in the eastern suburbs were shortlisted for the plant.

The BMC’s solid waste management department operates five vehicles in each municipal ward to transport wet waste to treatment centres.

“After this plant becomes operational, the quantum of waste that is being recycled will increase by a significant proportion and it will also lead to a sharp decline in pollution levels,” an official said.