**Mumbai’s Solid Waste Management: The Unsung Heroes and Ongoing Challenges**
Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) manages over 6,500 metric tonnes (MT) of waste daily through its comprehensive Solid Waste Management (SWM) system. From segregation and recycling to landfilling, this complex operation runs with precision—though not without its challenges. At the heart of this system are thousands of sanitation workers who start their day before dawn. As Mumbai wakes, this often-overlooked workforce is already in action, quietly ensuring the city remains functional and livable. They are the unsung heroes behind Mumbai’s resilience.
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### Challenges of E-Waste, Hazardous Waste, and Construction Debris
Mumbai generates vast amounts of waste daily from residential, commercial, industrial, and biomedical sources. Recently, the BMC has been grappling with the growing challenge of managing e-waste, domestic hazardous waste, and demolition & construction waste—each posing serious environmental and health risks.
Amid these challenges, BMC’s 28,821 sanitation workers remain vital to the SWM system. Starting early morning, they clean roads, unclog drains, manage community bins, and collect waste from homes and commercial establishments. Their efforts are crucial in preventing disease outbreaks, reducing monsoon flooding, and maintaining the livability of one of the world’s most densely populated cities.
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### Frontline Army Keeps Mumbai Clean After Festivals, Protests, and Andolans
These frontline workers keep Mumbai clean under the most challenging conditions—clearing beaches after crowds depart, managing trash washed ashore by high tides, and restoring order to streets littered during festivals, protests, and political rallies. Regardless of the event’s scale, they ensure the city wakes up to clean roads.
A striking example is the recent Maratha Andolan, where thousands gathered at Azad Maidan. By the next morning, the BMC’s SWM department had meticulously cleaned the entire area, leaving no trace behind.
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### Strain from Construction Waste and Road-Washing Drive
Sanitation workers face difficult working conditions—long hours, insufficient protective gear, and minimal job security. The rapid pace of construction across Mumbai has further strained this already understaffed workforce. The city generates approximately 2,500 MT of construction waste daily. According to civic data, more than 6,000 construction sites were active last year, contributing to rising dust pollution levels.
Consequently, sanitation workers must wash city roads daily (excluding the four monsoon months) to help control dust and maintain air quality.
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### Illegal Dumping and Pressure on Landfills
Over the past two to three years, illegal dumping—particularly of construction debris—has sharply increased in Mumbai. Public opposition to formal dumping sites complicates the issue further.
Currently, around 5,900 MT of waste are sent daily to the Kanjurmarg landfill, which remains controversial due to local resistance. The Deonar dumping ground, nearing capacity, handles only 500–700 MT per day, while the Gorai and Mulund landfills were shut down in 2009 and 2018, respectively.
Despite BMC’s goal to make Mumbai a zero-garbage city by 2030, progress has been hampered by limited public participation and the failure to achieve 100% segregation of dry and wet waste.
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### Citizen Participation: The Weak Link in a Waste-Free Mumbai Vision
The BMC has launched several initiatives to make Mumbai garbage-free, but without active public participation, achieving this goal remains a Herculean task.
For instance, although the BMC has moved toward eliminating community bins, many residents continue to dump waste at those locations, leaving areas dirty and unsanitary. The civic body previously deployed ‘clean-up marshals’ to prevent littering in public spaces, but the initiative was scrapped due to frequent complaints.
Despite these efforts, littering, spitting on roads, and other unsanitary practices persist, increasing the burden on sanitation workers tasked with keeping the city clean.
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### Pink Army Initiative and Bulk Waste Generator (BWG) Compliance Issues
In a more recent effort, the BMC formed the ‘Pink Army’—a dedicated team of female sanitation workers responsible for a second round of street sweeping on Mumbai’s busiest roads. Since May 2025, this team has been actively removing construction debris, clearing scrap material, and collecting large volumes of garbage.
Another major challenge lies in enforcing compliance among Bulk Waste Generators (BWGs)—establishments producing more than 100 kilograms of waste daily or occupying an area greater than 5,000 square meters. Eight years after BMC mandated BWGs to treat their waste at the source, compliance remains low. Out of 2,609 large residential and commercial BWG establishments, only 784 currently process wet waste on-site.
Illegal dumping of waste on roads and into stormwater drains (nullahs) remains a significant concern. Additional Municipal Commissioner (City), Dr. Ashwini Joshi, noted, “Garbage dumped by citizens into various small and large nullahs across Mumbai is a key cause of waterlogging. Despite regular cleaning efforts, illegal dumping continues to choke the drains.”
She urged residents to stop dumping waste into nullahs and use designated bins instead, emphasizing, “Proper disposal of waste will prevent clogging, ensure smooth water flow, and reduce the risk of flooding.”
To tackle this, the BMC launched a special drive from September 29 to October 13 across Mumbai and its suburbs aimed at removing floating waste from nullahs, focusing on debris collection and proper disposal aided by active citizen participation.
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### Major Projects: Bio-Mining, Waste-to-Energy, and Landfill Redevelopment
The BMC has initiated major projects to alleviate pressure on Mumbai’s landfills:
– **Mulund Dumping Ground:** Covering 24 hectares and operational since 1968 (closed in 2018), this site is being reclaimed through a Rs. 731-crore bio-mining project. So far, about 70 lakh MT (approximately 70%) of legacy waste has been cleared, with the remaining 21 lakh MT expected to be removed within a year. The BMC has also invited tenders for redevelopment planning of the reclaimed site.
– **Deonar Dumping Ground:** Mumbai’s oldest and largest landfill (311 acres), work is ongoing to address 2 crore MT of legacy waste. In June 2022, construction began on a Rs. 648-crore waste-to-energy (WTE) plant awarded to M/s Chennai MSW Pvt. Ltd. The project includes a 40-month construction period, followed by 15 years of operations and maintenance. To address environmental concerns, the plant’s capacity was revised to process 600 tonnes of fresh waste daily and generate 8 MW of electricity—doubling the initial estimate.
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### Call for Citizen Responsibility in Waste Management
While the BMC’s SWM department continues to shoulder much of the burden, no system can succeed without active citizen participation. Sanitation workers—whether sweeping streets after festivals or unclogging drains during floods—can only do so much.
If Mumbai is to rise above its waste crisis, its people must rise with it by segregating waste, respecting public spaces, and acknowledging the quiet dignity of those who tirelessly keep the city clean, day after day.
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### Mumbai Waste Management: Quick Facts
– **Daily waste generated:** 6,500 Metric tonnes
– **Construction waste and debris:** 2,500 MT
– **Waste transported to dumping grounds:**
– Deonar: 500 to 700 MT
– Kanjurmarg: 5,900 MT
– **Waste composition:**
– Wet waste: 72.60%
– Dry waste: 3.51%
– Construction & Demolition waste: 17.37%
– Plastic: 3.24%
– Recyclable and paper waste: 3.28%
– **Waste transport vehicles daily trips:** 921
– **Vehicle fleet:**
– Compactors: 1,615
– Dumpers: 81
– Tempos: 4,413
– JCB machines: 88
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https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/fpj-news-positive-bmcs-28000-sanitation-workers-battle-6500-mt-daily-waste-amid-rising-challenges-of-construction-debris-and-illegal-dumping