Mumbai civic body to install organic waste converters in four civic markets

About 76 metric tonnes of waste from the BMC’s 92 markets is sent to dumping grounds every day.

After the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) made it mandatory for the city’s big societies and commercial establishments to segregate and process their waste,it is now set to start composting waste in its own municipal markets.

The whole project is estimated to cost around Rs12 crore. (HT file photo)

The civic body has proposed to install organic waste converters in four of its markets on a trial basis, before implementing it in other markets.

This is the first time that wet or organic waste produced by the city’s market will be processed into manure. The whole project is estimated to cost around Rs12 crore, including the installation and maintenance of the units by the contractor for a period of 5 years.

According to the BMC’s market department, the composting units would be installed in Dadar’s wholesale vegetable and flower markets, Borivali market, and Malad (west) market. A total of 27.5 metric tonnes of waste is collectively produced per day in these four markets.

About 76 metric tonnes of waste from the BMC’s 92 markets is sent to dumping grounds every day. Once the BMC’s standing committee passes the proposal, the units will be installed within 6 months, said a civic official.

Contractors will have to install converters at other markets that are being redeveloped this year, added officials.

“The cost of collecting and transporting all the waste to the dumping grounds is much more higher than the cost of composting it at the premises itself,” said an official. The manure will be sold to the contractor for rebate, added the official.

The BMC has earlier issued a directive. It stated that residential societies or office complexes that produce over 100 kilograms of waste daily or have an area above 20,000 square meters must segregate waste and install waste processing units in their compounds.

The civic body had declared January 2 as the deadline to treat waste. It initiated action against around 184 establishments that failed to treat waste before the deadline.