Is city ready for new solid waste management system?

The BMC has set into motion a legion of changes that will play out in the coming months

- Sabah Virani

MUMBAI: Change is afoot in the solid waste management system of one of the world's most populous cities. From the type of waste that will be picked up from homes, to how and who will collect it, where it will go, what will become of it, and how much residents will pay for the waste collection, the pot of garbage is being stirred.

Mumbai produces a mammoth 7,300 metric tonnes of waste every day. With some exceptions, all this trash travels to dumping grounds in Kanjurmarg and Deonar.

Propelled in different directions by centrally prescribed waste management rules, mounting expenditure and liabilities, an unmatched scarcity of space due to an ever-growing population, and the very persistent nature of garbage, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has set into motion a legion of changes that will play out in the coming months.

Having last updated the city's SWM byelaws in 2006, an overhaul was due. In the interim years, the central government has rolled out laws for different categories of waste, including plastic, construction and demolition waste, and e-waste. Mumbai needed to catch up.

In April, the BMC released its solid waste management (SWM) draft byelaws, opening them up to the flood of suggestions and objections from citizens. The changes were all there for citizens to see: a user fee, starting at ₹100 for homes; mandatory waste segregation; and higher penalties for violations and non-compliance.

User fee Arguably the most controversial change proposed is charging a fee for solid waste management. "This has been a long time coming," said an officer from the BMC's SWM department. The BMC is around eight years behind in charging a user fee, which the central government mandated in the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.