‘Reduce and recycle waste’

The waste generation in the city has already crossed the 10,000 metric tonne mark and is rapidly increasing. Absence of hinterland for new dumping sites and agricultural land to absorb processed waste only complicates the problem further. In an interview with Sandeep Ashar, additional municipal commissioner RA Rajeev says that Mumbaikars need to wake up to the waste problem

Waste disposal has emerged as a major issue in Mumbai. How does the BMC plan to tackle it?
A major cause of concern is the unregulated dumping of waste at dumping sites. It has caused health problems for citizens residing in nearby areas. While several attempts were made to switch over to a scientific method of disposal, a major breakthrough was achieved recently, when proposals to set up engineered landfills at Deonar and Kanjurmarg were cleared. A similar proposal for Mulund is in the pipeline. Once these are set up, 60% of the waste generated could be treated scientifically.

Where did the plan for involving citizens in segregation of waste go wrong?
The segregation plan has worked at places, while failing to take off in a big way. Waste is being segregated at 68 locations in the city, where the advance locality management group (ALMs) are active. This, however, currently accounts for only 1% of the waste. What might have disheartened citizens is the lack of infrastructure at the dumping sites to treat the segregated waste separately.

The Bombay High Court recently stressed the need to reduce the burden on dumping grounds. How can this be achieved?
Citizens can help us achieve the objective. Segregation and recycling of waste at the source will reduce the amount of waste transported to the landfill sites. While only 100 tonne per day (TPD) is diverted from this way, Mumbai will do well to achieve 500 TPD in the near future.
Activists have labelled the capping technology used for the partial/ complete closure of dumping sites at Deonar and Gorai as expensive and potentially harmful. Your response
The technology has been used worldwide and has been ratified by experts from both the government and private institutions.
People against it are those who have not been adequately exposed to the technology. The lecheate (liquid generated from the decomposition of the waste) will be treated before its came in contact with creek water. The scientific method will not prove expensive since the expenditure incurred could be recovered through carbon credits and sale of energy generated from the waste. Property prices at Gorai have escalated since the closure of the dumping fill began.

Haven’t countries like the US and the UK where such engineered landfills were extensively set up, have now begun looking for alternatives?
We are still in the first generation of landfills. Those used in these countries are more advanced. We are setting up landfills on sites which have already been used for dumping and cannot be done away with. The least we could do is treat the waste collected here scientifically. Alternative options like biomining are inadvisable for disposal of large quantity of waste

What about the slum colonies in the city which are unserviced?
We have managed to increase our coverage to almost 90% from 60% in the last three years. Schemes like the slum adoption scheme and the ALMs are being encouraged to reach out to slums. We hope the cover the remaining 10% soon.

What should be the plan of action in the coming years?
The citizens should aim at reducing, reusing and recycling of waste. The BMC meanwhile should segregate waste and treat it scientifically. Debris generated from repair and reconstruction should be recycled (the BMC is in the process of setting up a plant which will recycle 500 TPD of construction waste). Citizens could help BMC implement an efficient waste disposal model.