NMMC Recycles 700 Ganesh Idols Into 760 Study Tables For Rabale School Students
The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has recycled Plaster of Paris (PoP) from 700 immersed Ganesh idols to manufacture 760 study tables. On June 29, the civic body announced that these tables have been distributed to students at the Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Municipal Secondary School No. 104 in Ambedkar Nagar, Rabale.
The initiative was launched to reduce festival-related environmental pollution and promote sustainable waste management by recycling 1,500 kilograms of PoP. The idols used for the project were collected during the Ganesh festival immersion last year.
According to NMMC, around 8,000 PoP idols were recovered last year from 146 artificial immersion ponds set up across the city. These ponds were created in compliance with directions from the Bombay High Court and guidelines from the Maharashtra government's Environment and Climate Change Department. The collected idols were preserved under supervision while the corporation researched scientific recycling methods.
To develop the recycling process, the NMMC consulted experts from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai.
The project was executed under the guidance of Municipal Commissioner Dr. Kailas Shinde and Deputy Commissioner Somnath Potre. It was supported through CSR funding from Henkel India Private Limited and Beach Please India Limited, in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Navi Mumbai.
The civic body is currently planning the next phase of this environmental initiative. The upcoming phase aims to scientifically process recovered PoP into reusable raw material that can be used to manufacture new idols.
NMMC officials have already initiated discussions with ICT Mumbai, scientists, and representatives of local idol-makers' associations to advance this next step. The project will proceed once the necessary technical approvals are secured.
This recycling drive is part of Navi Mumbai's broader environmental conservation campaign. The city was recently ranked the second most environmentally sustainable city in Maharashtra under the state's Majhi Vasundhara campaign.
