The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has cleared over 3,000 metric tons of additional waste generated across the city during the festive season, underscoring the scale of civic operations needed to keep Mumbai clean amid rising celebrations and urban waste generation. Officials said the city’s sanitation workforce worked round the clock to ensure waste was collected and transported to dumping grounds without delay.
According to data from the Solid Waste Management Department, Mumbai typically generates around 6,900 metric tons of waste daily. However, between October 18 and 21, the number surged to an average of 7,300 metric tons per day—marking an additional 600 to 700 metric tons generated daily during the festive period. In total, 3,075 metric tons of extra waste were collected and safely disposed of over the four-day span. Officials said that of this additional waste, nearly 2,075 metric tons were processed at the Kanjurmarg and Deonar dumping grounds. The remaining waste, which was temporarily stored at refuse transfer stations, is being cleared progressively. The BMC emphasised that maintaining operational efficiency during peak festive activity was possible only due to coordinated planning, additional staffing, and round-the-clock deployment of collection vehicles.
For its pre-Diwali and post-Diwali cleanliness drive, conducted between October 13 and 24, the BMC deployed over 7,000 sanitation workers, supported by an additional 2,000 staff and 5,500 members from the Pink Army—its dedicated women’s sanitation workforce. Civic officials stated that this collective effort ensured the timely collection, segregation, and disposal of solid waste generated from household decorations, festivities, and increased consumption patterns during the festive period. Experts noted that while the successful clearance reflects the city’s administrative efficiency, it also highlights the growing challenge of urban waste management in densely populated metropolitan areas. With Mumbai’s waste generation rising annually, civic planners are under pressure to transition towards sustainable waste processing methods such as decentralised composting, waste segregation at source, and reduction of landfill dependency.
Environmental specialists have also urged authorities to focus on citizen awareness and behavioural change, noting that sustainable waste management begins at the household level. “Festive waste tends to include large quantities of non-biodegradable materials. Public cooperation through proper segregation can help significantly reduce landfill pressure,” an environmental analyst said. Civic officials reiterated their appeal to citizens to support cleanliness efforts by minimising single-use plastics and ensuring proper waste segregation. They added that the BMC’s efforts during the festive season demonstrate the importance of citizen participation in keeping Mumbai clean and sustainable.
The city’s efficient response to the festive waste surge serves as a reminder that achieving a cleaner, zero-waste Mumbai requires both strong civic coordination and active community engagement. As the city continues to urbanise rapidly, sustained efforts towards eco-friendly waste management remain central to building a greener and more liveable metropolis.
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