Mumbai News: BMC Makes Sanitary Waste Collection Mandatory For Bulk Waste Generators; 202 Tonnes Collected Since May

Mumbai: Following the launch of its dedicated service for the collection of domestic sanitary and special care waste, the BMC has now made it mandatory for bulk waste generators (BWG) including large residential complexes and commercial establishments to register for this service.

These entities are required to segregate their domestic sanitary and special care waste and hand it over to the municipal corporation for proper disposal. Between May and August 12, the BMC has collected a total of 202 tonnes of such waste from these registered BWG.

Hazardous Items to Be Collected Separately

The service is designed to collect items such as used sanitary pads, diapers, expired medicines, and bandages or cotton contaminated with bodily fluids like urine, blood, saliva, pus, and faeces. Though this waste is highly hazardous, it is often neglected and disposed of with regular household garbage, posing serious health risks.

Training and Special Yellow Dustbins from August 18

To ensure proper waste segregation, the BMC will train residents and staff at participating establishments, including beauty parlours, on the types of waste to be separated and collected under this initiative. NGOs have been roped in to conduct the training sessions, and the civic body will provide a collection schedule to all registered participants.

2,091 Housing Societies, 1,146 Beauty Parlours Onboard

Over the past three months, 2,091 housing societies, 1,146 beauty parlours, 286 educational institutions, and 40 women’s hostels have registered with BMC for the services.

Going forward, all large residential and commercial establishments generating over 100 kg of waste daily or occupying more than 5,000 sq. meters will be mandated to register for this service.

Kiran Dighavkar, deputy municipal commissioner (Solid Waste Management) said, "All registered entities including housing societies, residential complexes, beauty parlours, educational institutions, and women’s hostels will be provided with specially designed ‘Yellow Dustbins’ for waste collection. Distribution of these bins is scheduled to begin from August 18."

City Generates 70–80 Tonnes of Sanitary Waste Daily

Currently, Mumbai generates an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 tonnes of solid waste daily, of which around 70 to 80 tonnes consists of sanitary waste related to personal hygiene. To tackle domestic waste, the BMC procured advanced plasma treatment units from Malaysia, with the first three units commissioned in 2021 at Oshiwara, Malad, and Dharavi.

Each unit has a processing capacity of four tonnes per day. However, due to poor segregation of waste at the source, these plants have been operating below capacity collectively processing only 12 tonnes of domestic waste daily.

The BMC has also invited tenders for the operation and maintenance of 11 additional plasma-based domestic hazardous waste processing units across the city and its suburbs.

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Mumbai News: BMC Cracks Down On Bulk Waste Generators Over Poor Compliance With On-Site Processing Rules

Poor Compliance in Waste Treatment at Source

Eight years after the BMC mandated BWGs to treat waste at source, compliance remains poor. Of 2,609 — large residential and commercial BWG establishments, only 784 process wet waste on-site.

Another 727 continue to use third-party transport—now banned under revised rules—while the remaining 1,098 hand over waste directly to the BMC. The civic body has issued a stern warning, directing all BWGs to either process waste on their premises or officially hand it over to BMC.