Mumbai is set to tackle maritime pollution with new initiatives. The city has partnered with the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, and the Netherlands-based nonprofit The Ocean Cleanup to prevent plastic from entering the Arabian Sea.
Under the initiative, special barriers will be installed in the city to trap plastic debris before it reaches the ocean. These barriers will focus first on the Trombay and Malad canals. Data-driven research identified these waterways as major sources of plastic pollution that ends up in the sea.
Deployment of the barrier technology is planned for after 2026. Once operational, the systems will recover between 61 and 92 tonnes of plastic every year. Currently, about 61 tonnes of plastic are collected annually from these canals.
The Ocean Cleanup leads the project and is a nonprofit based in the Netherlands that develops technology to remove waste from oceans. The organisation is working closely with local authorities to reduce pollution in Mumbai. According to their research, plastic makes up 80% of the trash found along India’s coasts.
Globally, only 0.03% of rivers, roughly 1,000 out of 3 million, produce almost 80% of the plastic entering oceans. Mumbai alone releases about 5 million kilograms of plastic waste into the Indian and Arabian Seas each year. This pollution affects 152 square kilometres of mangroves, 220 kilometres of coastline, 107 protected species, and nearly 1.9 million livelihoods dependent on marine and coastal ecosystems.
The Mumbai initiative is part of a global “30 Cities Program". The project focuses on industrial discharge and urban runoff.