Mumbai gets India's biggest biomedical waste center

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai said it has signed on more than 1,000 customers for its new biomedical waste center at Deonar in Mumbai.

The center, capable of treating 8 to 10 metric tons (8.8 to 11 U.S. tons) of biomedical waste per day, is the largest in the country.

Company officials say interest in the Rs 10 crore ($2.1 million) center has been fueled by pressure from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, which has started taking action against those who improperly dispose of waste. Biomedical waste was previously sent to Taloja, which is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) inland from Mumbai.

Maharashtra is India's third largest state by area and second largest by population. The government there is also cracking down on electronic waste, or e-waste (see Maharashtra starts to regulate cities' e-waste).

The new biomedical waste treatment center occupies 4,000 meters of land. SMS Envoclean secured the contract to transport waste to the center using its 35 trucks. The fully automated center then disposes of the waste using autoclave, shredding and incineration. The smoke is treated before it is released to remove pollutants.

Mumbai generates about 10 metric tons of biomedical waste per day through its 1,400 private, 300 municipal and 12 government hospitals.

Maharashtra has 17 other biomedical waste facilities, in addition to plans to add them in the districts of Yavatmal, Buldhana, Osmanabad and Hingoli.