September 19, 2025: In a bid to strengthen its waste management system, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has announced plans to modernise 10 of the city’s 41 dry waste segregation centres. The initiative, supported by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), will see Rs 70 lakh allocated for each centre under the first phase.

Currently, Mumbai operates 41 dry waste segregation facilities where waste is sorted for recycling. However, officials admit that most centres, managed by informal sectors, are running below potential. To address this, the BMC, in consultation with RITES, has prepared a phased modernisation plan.

According to Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Ashwini Joshi, the upgrade will include conveyor belts, designated changing rooms for male and female workers, and on-site processing of segregated waste. The move is expected to reduce pressure on the city’s overburdened dumping grounds at Deonar and Kanjurmarg.

In the first phase, centres at Wadala, Marol, Dahisar East and Borivali West will be upgraded. These sites, all located on BMC-owned land, measure over 2,000 sq ft, with the Dahisar facility spanning 14,200 sq ft. Centres at Colaba, Kumbharwada, Agripada and Andheri West will follow in the second phase, with additional upgrades at Andheri, Ghatkopar and Oshiwara in the third.

“The objective is to make dry waste segregation more structured and efficient. The Central government is also encouraging such initiatives through dedicated funding,” Joshi said on Thursday. Tenders are expected to be floated next month.

Meanwhile, five months after launching its sanitary and special care waste management drive, the BMC has registered over 4,000 entities, including housing societies, salons and hostels. The civic body now collects more than 2.5 tonnes of sanitary waste daily, ranging from nappies and sanitary pads to medical items such as bandages and needles, under the Solid Waste Management rules mandating four-way segregation.

Source: The Indian Express