Bengaluru Waste Crisis: 1,775 Tonnes Unprocessed Daily
Bengaluru generates over 5,880 tonnes of solid waste every day, but the city's processing capacity stands at only 4,105 tonnes. This leaves a daily shortfall of 1,775 tonnes that has no designated treatment facility.
To address this gap, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), along with five city corporations and the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML), has proposed a comprehensive overhaul of the waste management system. The plan includes new processing facilities, separate handling of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, bulky waste, and animal waste, as well as restructuring garbage collection and transportation.
Of the unprocessed 1,775 tonnes per day, wet waste constitutes the largest share at 677 tonnes, followed by dry waste at 545 tonnes. The proposal was recently discussed with Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda.
A new collection and transportation (C&T) model is envisaged, comprising 33 contract packages with an estimated annual expenditure of ₹619 crore, totalling about ₹5,040 crore over seven years. This would replace the current fragmented system that relies on hundreds of supply agencies with larger, division-based contracts.
Current operations involve about 5,020 auto-tippers and nearly 600 compactors, with each auto-tipper serving 750 to 1,000 households. However, coverage is uneven; many vehicles lack GPS, skip assigned routes, and fail to collect from all areas, leading to patchy collection, officials told The Hindu.
Processing infrastructure shows multiple stress points. Of the 16 biomethanation plants for decentralised wet waste treatment, only six are operational, six are defunct, and four are under construction. Out of 26 planned mini transfer stations, seven are non-functional. Among 30 larger transfer stations, only three are operational.
Legacy waste remains a persistent problem. The city has about 36.5 lakh metric tonnes of accumulated waste at the Bellahalli site alone, while remediation continues at several old dump yards. Construction and demolition waste adds another challenge, with 6,000 tonnes generated daily against a processing capacity of just 2,050 tonnes. Proposals include expanding C&D waste treatment facilities under a public-private partnership model.
Dry waste management also lags. The city's 124 dry waste collection centres can handle only 266 tonnes per day—a fraction of what is generated. Much low-value plastic and other dry waste is sent to waste-to-energy plants and cement factories, where it is burned or co-processed rather than recycled. About 1,100 tonnes of such waste are pushed out daily.
