Delhi Landfills Shrink: 100 Acres Cleared of Waste

In a significant environmental effort, Delhi authorities have reclaimed more than 100 acres of land from the Okhla, Bhalswa, and Ghazipur landfills. This achievement is the result of processing over 2.16 crore metric tonnes of legacy waste that had accumulated over decades.

The processed waste yields inert material, which is now being repurposed for filling low-lying areas and constructing road bases. This biomining process, which began in 2019, involves excavating and biologically treating waste to recover recyclable materials and reclaim valuable land.

Civic bodies have established timelines for clearing these landfill sites, with Okhla and Bhalswa targeted for completion by December of this year, and the largest site, Ghazipur, by December next year. Despite recent heavy rainfall slowing progress and ongoing daily waste dumping, the long-term plan includes setting up four new Waste-to-Energy plants.

These new plants are designed to process Delhi's daily waste generation at an equivalent rate, ensuring that accumulated waste does not form new mountains and waste is managed sustainably. The government aims for daily processing to match daily generation.