India, June 4 -- As the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) gears up for one of its most ambitious clean-up missions yet - clearing the vast Deonar dumping ground - a waste characterisation report has laid bare the staggering scale and complexity of the challenge.

Spanning 127 hectares in the heart of Mumbai's eastern suburbs, the Deonar landfill holds nearly 18.5 million tonnes of legacy waste - accumulated over decades of unchecked dumping. Now, a 2024 survey commissioned by the BMC reveals that nearly 90% of this waste is practically unprocessable, leaving few sustainable disposal options.

Conducted through 50 boreholes and 100 sampled layers, the Rs.1.13 crore survey - carried out by NM Consultants and Engineers Pvt Ltd in coll...