Changing City: Mumbai to reduce solid waste sent to dumping grounds by 1,000 metric tons
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Deonar dumping ground, Deonar. (Express photo/File)The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has set an annual target of reducing municipal solid waste for the two dumping grounds in the city—Kanjurmarg and Deonar—by 1,000 metric tons, to achieve its long-term goal of 100 per cent decentralised waste processing. A look at the BMCs roadmap in achieving this objective.
Waste management in Mumbai
6,300-6,500 MT: Garbage collected every day by the BMC in 2022
5,500+ MT: Sent to the Kanjurmarg processing plant
700 MT: Dumped at the Deonar dumping ground
10,500 MT: Garbage collected by the BMC every day in 2016-17
BMC targets
– Annually reducing collected waste by 1,000 MT
– 100% decentralised waste processing
– Eliminating waste collection from bulk generators
In 2019, the BMC announced it will stop waste collection from bulk generators of waste.
– Bulk generators of waste: Hotels and housing societies that generate over 100 MT waste per day. They are required to segregate and process waste at the source or outsource it.
– 50% of 2,800 bulk generators comply with BMC rules
Why?
To find sustainable alternatives to the tradition of dumping waste at dumping grounds
BMC has already started the process for scientific closure of the Mulund dumping ground for reclaiming the land, and aims to do the same for the Deonar dumping ground, following directives from the Bombay High Court, first received in 2013. The waste processing plant at Kanjurmarg takes most of the load and the BMC aims to decentralise this as a long-term sustainable way of solid waste management.
Present crisis in waste management
20 million MT: accumulated waste at Deonar dumping ground since 1923
6 million MT: waste left at Mulund Dumping ground
How does BMC plan to achieve targets
600 MT waste-to-energy plant at the Deonar dumping ground: In 40 months, the BMC is expected to complete the construction of waste-to-energy plant and 9 mini bio-methanisation plants with a capacity to process 2MT of waste per day, for decentralised waste processing.
Upgraded machinery: To increase the bio-mining capacity at the Mulund dumping ground
20 more bio-methanisation plants planned for decentralised waste management
Studying change in waste generation in future
A committee that will present a report about the scenarios of population growth, estimated waste generation in the future, nature of waste generated, and the needs of waste management and processing. On the basis of this, the BMC will decide on the capacity of the second waste-to-energy plant at the dumping ground, which was initially planned to have a capacity of processing 1,800 MT of waste per day.
Present status
– Open dustbins eliminated to prevent construction debris dumping
– 46 dry-waste collection centres at wards operated with the help of NGOs working with rag-pickers
– 500 MT waste bio-mined at the Mulund dumping ground per day
– 3 mini waste-to-energy plants, one each at Pali Hill and Haji Ali with a capacity to handle two MT of organic waste per day, and one at Malad with a capacity to take 30 MT of organic waste per day
Authorities speak
Bharat Torne, chief engineer of the BMC’s solid waste-management department said, “We are taking serious efforts to ensure waste segregation at the source and facilitate decentralised waste processing, so zero garbage is dumped at the Deonar dumping ground. Even at present, we send very little garbage to Deonar, and use it for dumping only the necessary quantity of waste.”
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