Mumbai: The state government on Wednesday submitted before the Bombay high court an expert technical panel report for eco-friendly dissolution of PoP idols, which recommended two separate artificial immersion ponds: one for idols made of environmentally unfriendly material and another for those made of traditional clay.The report also suggested more research was required as biological disintegration of PoP is very slow and not technically feasible. But it recommended that chemical or thermal processes were an option.The HC will hear the matter finally after two weeks.Proposed eco-friendly disposal methods, the committee said, could be a calcination process of dehydrating the used PoP at 150°C to convert it back into fresh PoP and the ‘chemical process’ of using ammonium bicarbonate to chemically break down the idols into ammonium sulphate and calcium carbonate.The BMC reported accumulating 2,000-2,500 tonnes of PoP idol waste following the 2025 Ganesh festival.The panel noted that chemical use could lead to air and water pollution and its economic viability needs to be checked as the amount of the bicarbonate needed is equivalent to the idol’s weight and is “10 times more expensive”.Calcination of PoP can help in reuse for new idols, plaster board, medical use for plaster for ceramic items or brick manufacturing, the panel suggested.The “expert scientific committee for suggesting methods for reuse, recycle of PoP material and its faster dissolution” was formed by the Maharashtra government last August in a pending PIL filed in 2024 and four connected petitions against the harmful effect of PoP idols. Activist Rohit Joshi had flagged concern before the HC of violations of its orders to ensure compliance with Central Pollution Control Board on PoP idol immersions.The committee, headed by Maharashtra Pollution Control Board member-secretary Devender Singh, also has Anurag Garg, professor from IIT- Bombay, and S Venkata Mohan, director, NEERI (Nagpur). It said the chemical disintegration process could be expensive and its “process optimisation and detailed economic analysis needs to be carried out”.The expert committee recommended that idols be kept in artificial tanks for at least three weeks to enable proper dissolution of paint, softening of PoP, and partial disintegration, and local bodies can transport them later to a processing facility. Devotees who wish, may send the idols directly to a pre-decided centre, where calcination can take place.The state, in its comments, noted that the panel suggested that pilot projects be implemented in 8 to 10 cities, including Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur, to test the feasibility and costs of these recycling methods before rolling them out statewide.Joshi said, “ Maharashtra sees approximately 1.5 crore idols installed annually. If an average idol weighs 10kg, and we conservatively estimate that just 50% of them are made of PoP, we are looking at a staggering 75,000 tonnes of PoP waste generated across the state every single year.”
