As Bappa bids goodbye, a new product cycle begins

Thousands of Mumbai residents make their way to the city's beaches on Anant Chaturdashi to bid farewell to their Ganpati idols on trucks and the shoulders. These idols are accompanied by crowds chanting "Ganpati Bappa Morya" and celebrating as the idols are immersed in the sea. For devotees, it's a poignant end to a month of worship, celebration, and community gatherings.

However, the story does not end with the immersion. Once the crowds depart, the next act begins: retrieving, transporting and storing the idols until they can be repurposed.

In 2025, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) collected around 200,000 Ganesh idols, weighing about 2,500 million tonnes (MT). Additionally, they collected 300 MT of Navratri idols. These idols are currently stored at the BMC's Mulund Processing and Reclamation Site. While the BMC has collected a large volume of idols, processing them on a large scale remains a significant challenge.

Mumbai's challenge extends beyond simply collecting the idols; it also involves what happens after collection. From a beach clean-up to a supply chain, the process is far more intricate than simply recycling. Breaking down the idols is a labour-intensive task, with an average of eight hours required to dismantle 100 idols. The collection and segregation of material are handled separately from the processing stage.

However, the sheer volume of material creates another problem. There's simply so much inflow that recycling as much as possible is essential to minimize waste.

The cost of collecting, transporting, and storing the 2,500 MT of Ganesh idol material in 2025 was estimated at around Rs 75 lakh by the BMC. This year's cost is expected to be 20-25% higher. While this figure does not include the cost of recycling, it illustrates the financial burden on the city.