BMC Cracks Down On Unregistered Bulk Waste Generators Across Mumbai

Mumbai: Despite the BMC mandating registration for Bulk Waste Generators (BWG), many residential and commercial establishments remain non-compliant. Civic authorities have directed officials to ensure immediate registration, backed by strict enforcement where necessary. Compliance must also extend to source segregation of wet and dry waste, on-site processing of organic waste, and handing over recyclables to authorized vendors.

The Municipal Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2000 mandate all local bodies to ensure scientific treatment of waste and provide infrastructure for segregation, collection, and transportation. However, the BMC’s post-Covid push to compel bulk waste generators—housing societies and commercial establishments above 20,000 sq m or producing over 100 kg of wet waste—to implement on-site segregation and composting has largely fallen short.

Last year, the BMC directed all BWGs to either process waste on-site or formally hand it over to the civic body. In August 2025, it also rolled out a dedicated service for the collection of domestic sanitary and special care waste, making it mandatory for BWG establishments generating such waste in large quantities to register, segregate it, and hand it over to the municipal corporation. At present, around 17,624 entities are registered with the BMC, including housing societies, residential complexes, hotels, restaurants, malls, markets, commercial complexes, IT companies, schools, colleges, hospitals, as well as banquet halls and event venues. However, many institutions and individuals remain unregistered.

Following a review, Bhide directed that unregistered entities be urgently brought into the system, with strict enforcement where required. She stressed that compliance must extend beyond registration to mandatory segregation of wet and dry waste, on-site processing of organic waste, and channelising recyclables through authorised vendors. She also instructed the SWM Department to step up outreach through workshops and awareness drives, including expert-led programmes to sensitise bulk waste generators.