Waste Management – Delhi Plans Major Expansion to Process Daily Garbage
Waste Management – Delhi’s waste management system continues to face a serious capacity gap, even as civic authorities prepare a large-scale expansion of processing infrastructure across the city. While segregation of waste at homes, markets and commercial establishments remains a key concern, officials say Delhi also needs more facilities to handle the volume of garbage generated every day.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is planning to add 13,550 tonnes per day of waste-processing capacity through new waste-to-energy plants, compressed biogas projects and other treatment facilities. The proposed works are expected to be completed in stages between 2026 and 2028.
Existing Capacity Falls Short of Daily Waste Generation
Delhi produces nearly 14,000 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste each day. However, the MCD currently has an installed processing capacity of around 7,841 tonnes per day.
Since the civic body handles waste collection and disposal across nearly 90 to 95 per cent of the national capital, the present figures point to a substantial daily shortfall. The gap is estimated at about 6,000 tonnes, adding to the burden on landfill sites that already receive fresh waste along with old garbage under biomining operations.
Officials believe the planned expansion could raise Delhi’s total waste-processing capacity to more than 21,000 tonnes per day once all projects are completed.
New Waste-to-Energy and Biogas Facilities Proposed
Under the expansion plan, the MCD aims to create an additional 7,650 tonnes per day of capacity through waste-to-energy and compressed biogas facilities.
The proposal includes a 3,000 tonnes-per-day waste-to-energy plant at Narela-Barwana and another 2,000 tonnes-per-day plant at Ghazipur. The existing waste-to-energy plants at Okhla and Tehkhand are also expected to be expanded by 1,000 tonnes per day each.
New compressed biogas facilities have been proposed at Okhla and Ghazipur. These plants are expected to support the treatment of biodegradable waste and reduce the quantity of untreated material reaching dumping grounds.
Five Additional Processing Projects in Pipeline
Apart from energy and biogas projects, the civic body has identified five new waste-processing facilities with a combined capacity of 5,900 tonnes per day. These projects are planned for Bhalswa, Shinghola, Okhla, Bawana and Ghazipur.
Sandeep Kapoor, chairman of the Department of Environmental Management Services at the MCD, said the corporation is working on two major tracks. One involves the five processing projects, while the other focuses on expanding waste-to-energy infrastructure.
According to Kapoor, the objective is to develop enough treatment capacity to process more waste than Delhi generates on a daily basis. He said the civic body is targeting an additional 8,000 to 9,000 metric tonnes of capacity over the next one-and-a-half years through phased implementation.
Experts Stress Need for Segregation at Source
Waste management specialists have cautioned that new infrastructure alone will not solve Delhi’s garbage problem unless waste segregation improves at the source.
Experts say mixed waste reduces the effectiveness of treatment technologies and makes scientific processing more difficult. Wet biodegradable waste, dry recyclable material and non-recyclable waste require different methods of handling.
Waste-to-energy plants are mainly designed to use dry, combustible and non-recyclable material as fuel. They are not intended to process large quantities of wet waste with high moisture content. Experts have therefore called for stronger segregation systems and greater use of composting, material recovery and biogas facilities.
Four Major Plants Handle Most of Delhi’s Waste
At present, Delhi’s treatment network depends heavily on four major facilities: the integrated waste-processing plant at Narela-Bawana and waste-to-energy plants at Okhla, Ghazipur and Tehkhand.
These facilities account for most of the city’s available processing capacity. Smaller decentralised systems, including composting centres, material recovery facilities and compressed biogas plants, continue to play a limited role.
The proposed projects are expected to improve Delhi’s ability to treat fresh municipal waste scientifically and reduce pressure on the Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla landfill sites. However, the success of the expansion will also depend on regular collection, proper segregation and effective enforcement at the local level.