Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has revived plans for a dedicated furniture and textile dry-waste processing facility, tabling a proposal for a 75-tonne-per-day plant before its standing committee for approval.PMC has earmarked Rs 75 crore for the project, which will be developed in phases on an 11-acre plot in Hadapsar. The facility is intended to process bulky waste like mattresses, pillows, sofas, chairs and discarded textiles, which are often dumped in open spaces as Pune lacks a dedicated processing mechanism.Officials said the proposal had been under consideration for several years and failed to secure final approval after first being tabled last year. “An agency has already been identified to establish and operate the plant, while PMC will fund the required infrastructure. The facility is expected to operate for 20 years,” an official said.With no specialised processing unit currently available, residents have largely depended on waste collectors to dispose of old furniture and textile waste. Many citizens, however, complained that collection services were inconsistent, resulting in illegal dumping across the city.“The administration has urged citizens to hand over furniture and cloth waste to designated collectors, but many collectors either do not turn up or refuse requests, citing the absence of processing facilities. This ultimately leads to waste being dumped in the open,” Shivajinagar resident Viraj Konde said.Civic activists have welcomed the move but cautioned that PMC must ensure the facility operates at its designed capacity. “Several waste processing plants set up by the administration, including those handling wet, dry and mixed waste, are operating far below their full capacity. This has affected the city’s overall waste management system,” civic activist Vikram Gaikwad said.The revised proposal is expected to be discussed at the standing committee meeting later this week.At present, Pune generates over 2,300 tonnes of solid waste daily. In a bid to strengthen its waste-processing infrastructure, PMC had last month approved the establishment of two processing units with a combined capacity of 500 tonnes per day in Phursungi.
