PMC plans to raise waste processing capacity by 300 tonnes on immediate basis

Pune municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram on Tuesday said the civic administration has begun exploring options to increase processing capacity within the next few days, particularly for wet and dry waste

With multiple waste processing projects in Pune either shut or operating below capacity, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is planning to immediately increase the city’s garbage processing capacity by nearly 300 tonnes per day to prevent accumulation of waste across the city.

The civic administration is also planning to increase the processing capacity of the waste-to-energy plant at Hadapsar by an additional 225 tonnes, officials said. (HT)

Pune municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram on Tuesday said the civic administration has begun exploring options to increase processing capacity within the next few days, particularly for wet and dry waste.

“We are exploring possibilities to increase processing capacity on an immediate basis through the existing units. In the next few days, we plan to increase waste processing capacity by up to 300 tonnes, which will include both wet and dry waste,” Ram said.

The civic administration is also planning to increase the processing capacity of the waste-to-energy plant at Hadapsar by an additional 225 tonnes, officials said.

Solid waste management (SWM) department head Santosh Warule said officials have been instructed to identify facilities where immediate expansion is possible.

“I will be visiting each plant to see where capacity can be increased. The mandate is to increase it by 300 tonnes,” Warule said.

According to the civic officials, Pune currently generates around 2,200 to 2,400 tonnes of waste daily. Of this, nearly 400 tonnes are processed, while around 700 tonnes are diverted for agricultural use. The remaining waste has increasingly started piling up due to disruptions at treatment plants.

Multiple garbage processing projects with a combined capacity of nearly 700 to 750 tonnes per day are operating below capacity, affecting the city’s waste management system. The report also stated that waste accumulation has increased in several parts of Pune.

Officials said that one of the major concerns is the shutdown of processing facilities at Keshavnagar. The 150-tonne capacity processing units operated by private companies there have reportedly remained shut due to technical and mechanical issues.

According to officials, the rising garbage generation in Pune is due to the rapid increase in food delivery services, e-commerce packaging and use of plastic and paper-based packing material. Civic officials admitted that the quantity of packaging waste and disposable material has increased significantly in recent years.

Civic officials said efforts are underway to restart some stalled projects and increase existing processing capacities to prevent further pressure on the city’s waste management system ahead of the monsoon season.