NMMC to develop last cell for solid waste disposal at Turbhe landfill

As there will be no more land available, the corporation is in the process of exploring newer technology for disposing solid waste like the bio mass gassifier system which converts waste into green energy

Navi Mumbai

HT Image

The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) will soon be closing the 7th cell and simultaneously developing the 8th cell for scientifically disposing of the solid waste generated from the city. The new cell is to be developed on 17 acre land and as per sources it is likely to be the last of the area to be utilized of the landfill site. Following this the civic administration is to adopt newer technology like that of Bio-Mining of solid waste or biomass gasifier system.

“ As there will be no more land available, the corporation is in the process of exploring newer technology for disposing solid waste like the bio mass gassifier system whcih converts waste into green energy. It is also considered to revive cell 1 and 2 as these were closed almost a decade back.,” said the city engineer , NMMC, Sanjay Desai.

NMMC solid waste management is undertaken at the Turbhe Landfill spread over an area of over 80 acres of land. “Technically the land acquired by the corporation for disposing city waste is spread over 99 acres of land. However with over 19 acres lost to encroachments, NMMC has access to only 80 odd acres of area for undertaking the entire solid waste management that includes segregation, processing and scientific disposal of the residual after processing of wet waste also known as inert waste,” said an official from the engineering department.

On an average the landfill site at Turbhe receives almost 700 to 750 Metric tonne (MTs) of waste on a daily basis. The waste is then segregated at the landfill into organic matter, plastic waste, coconut shell, paper waste etc. For developing the 8th cell, civic administration has estimated of incurring expenditure of 22 crore.

As per the 2022 -23 environmental status report of the total waste generated almost 57% was organic waste. “ Almost 20 % of organic waste cannot be processed any further and this is termed as inert waste and their disposal is a challenge as these don’t decompose easily,” adds the official.

The 7th cell developed in the year 2020 by incurring expenditure of over 15 crore is stated to have reached its full capacity. “ NMMC for the past 27 years has followed a very scientific approach when it comes to collection, segregation and disposal of solid waste on the designated sites. The 7 th cell used for disposal of inert wast was constructed over an area of 10 acres and is estimated to be used for the next 6 months therefore the need to develop a new site so that the disposal process continues.,” said the city engineer.

The 8th cell is suggested to be the last to be developed as there will be no more land available on the landfill site. “In all probability there will no more land available for setting up anymore newer cells. Once the 8th cell also reaches its maximum capacity, NMMC will adopt the system of reviving the cells closed over a decade ago. This system is known as biomining, ” informed the official.