The BDA document has drawn a roadmap to handle 18,390 tonnes of waste per day that will be generated by the city’s burgeoning population in 2031. However, experts claim that not only are figures inflated but the recommendations are not well thought out. For instance, the development authority in its recommendations has said that while half the waste can be processed, 30 per cent would go to landfills, and another 20 per cent would be recyclable dry waste. Further, it argues that 7,000 TPD of waste will make it to landfills. “7000 TPD at landfills would simply mean 10 Mandur-like landfills around the city, which is not at all sustainable. The master plan needs to first put a metric of waste at landfills as a target, say less than 15 per cent, and reverse engineer the strategy,” said V. Ravichandar, member, BBMP Restructuring Committee.
Almitra Patel, member, SWM Expert Committee, said, “Landfills are not a sustainable solution for India. We must work from today towards zero landfill in 2031 by adopting readily available technologies to meet an annual target of say 2 per cent each year for reducing waste at landfill,” adding that now there are technologies available in the market to even recycle sanitary pads and in such a scenario, opting for landfills as a strategy was unviable.