The Andhra Pradesh government has launched an ambitious initiative to address the issue of legacy waste by clearing 86 lakh tonnes of old waste dumps by October 2.
Municipal Administration and Urban Development Principal Secretary S Suresh Kumar made the announcement during a collectors’ conference here on Tuesday.
He also said another 30 lakh tonnes of trash will be cleared by December.
“The government has embarked on an ambitious plan to tackle legacy waste by clearing 85.90 lakh metric tonnes of old dumps by October 2, 2025, and an additional 30 lakh metric tonnes by December 2025,” said Kumar.
Legacy waste refers to old municipal solid waste that has accumulated over many years in open dumpsites or landfills without proper treatment.
He said the reclaimed land will be reused productively, with recovered soil processed into compost and Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) supplied to cement factories.
According to Kumar, waste-to-energy projects are already operational in Visakhapatnam and Guntur, converting hundreds of tonnes of municipal waste into power daily.
New plants are planned in Nellore, Rajahmundry, Kurnool, Kadapa, Vijayawada, and Tirupati, with six projects expected to be fully functional by 2027.
On the wastewater front, the official said land acquisition is underway for 142 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), requiring 199 acres, to ensure treated water is safely reused in an environmentally sustainable manner.
Adopting a circular economy model would ensure environmental protection, optimal land use, water recycling, and resource efficiency, while also creating employment opportunities, he added.
As part of best practices, he informed that the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat was declared Single-Use Plastic (SUP) Free on August 15, while all district collectorates and government offices have been directed to achieve SUP-Free status by December 2025.
