Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group, on Monday heaped praises on Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai for recently clearing the Perungudi dumpyard using bio mining tech from Blue Planet Environmental Solutions, which provides end-to-end sustainable waste management solutions in Asia. Anand Mahindra kicked off the week with his signature Monday motivation by sharing the story of Perungudi dumpyard in Chennai, once known as a mountain of waste, and now transformed into something useful, even beautiful. The tech tycoon believes that if 50 years of garbage can be re-invented, there's India's waster problem can be solved and this can inspire other cities too. "Chennai recently cleared the Perungudi dumpyard using bio mining tech from @BluePlanet_Env. If 50 years of garbage can be reinvented, then there’s hope for India’s waste problem and room for many more such growth stories… #MondayMotivation," Anand Mahindra wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
For years, the Perungudi dumpyard in Chennai was known as a mountain of waste but now the mountain of garbage is finally vanishing. Today, it’s becoming a symbol of what’s possible when innovation meets determination. On this 96-acre stretch, more than 1.7 million cubic metres of garbage — equal to nearly 20 football fields- were cleared in September last year. Every day, Chennai sends about 5,500 tonnes of garbage to two dumpsites — Perungudi and Kodungaiyur. But Blue Planet’s Zigma Environmental Solutions has cleared close to 95 acres of the nearly 200-acre Perungudi dumpyard. The waste is being used to craft everything from furniture to steel pallets at their facility in Coimbatore, reports The Hindu. Thanks to Blue Planet’s Made-in-India biomining tech, 1.7M cubic metres of garbage got a second life — plastics alone will be recycled 7–8 times!
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In November 2020, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) launched an ambitious project to mine the entire Perungudi dumpyard, dividing it into six packages. At the heart of this effort is ‘Blue Planet Environmental Solutions’, a sustainability-driven organisation that has pioneered a Made-in-India biomining process. Their approach is designed not just to clear landfills, but to do so safely, sustainably, and with zero pollution.
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The magnitude of operations at Perungudi was staggering. Every day, nearly 9,000 tonnes of waste were excavated, processed, and sorted, with each batch subjected to 52 stringent safety checks. The objective was ambitious yet clear: to restore the land while safeguarding the environment. From landfill to living room, Chennai has already turned 50 years of waste at Perungudi dumpyard into stunning furniture, bottles and slabs.
As of September 15, 2025, Chennai has turned a towering landfill into a testament of human ingenuity, reshaping 1.7 million cubic meters of refuse into objects of utility and beauty. Once a stark symbol of despair, the Perungudi dumpyard now resonates with a powerful promise—that when guided by technology, waste can become a source of creation rather than decay. The project shines as a beacon for cities around the world, proving that even towering mountains of refuse can be transformed into stepping stones toward sustainability and renewal.
For years, the Perungudi dumpyard in Chennai was known as a mountain of waste but now the mountain of garbage is finally vanishing. Today, it’s becoming a symbol of what’s possible when innovation meets determination. On this 96-acre stretch, more than 1.7 million cubic metres of garbage — equal to nearly 20 football fields- were cleared in September last year. Every day, Chennai sends about 5,500 tonnes of garbage to two dumpsites — Perungudi and Kodungaiyur. But Blue Planet’s Zigma Environmental Solutions has cleared close to 95 acres of the nearly 200-acre Perungudi dumpyard. The waste is being used to craft everything from furniture to steel pallets at their facility in Coimbatore, reports The Hindu. Thanks to Blue Planet’s Made-in-India biomining tech, 1.7M cubic metres of garbage got a second life — plastics alone will be recycled 7–8 times!
ALSO READ: Pongal holidays 2026: Tamil Nadu schools to remain shut on these dates. Check full list of holidays
Chennai turns decades of dumbyard into furniture
As Chennai struggled with growing landfills, Perungudi has shown that waste doesn’t have to mean ruin. With the right technology, it can spark renewal, create resources, and reclaim land once written off as lost. Waste from Perungudi was processed, recycled, and repurposed. For instance, steel was re-shaped into utensils and hardware, nearly 3,000 tonnes of glass were re-born as bottles and stones became concrete slabs. Plastics, once thought of as non-recyclable, were given a new life as outdoor furniture, ramps, and pallets. Remarkably, these plastic-based products can be recycled seven to eight times, giving them a much longer life cycle than traditional disposal methods would allow.In November 2020, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) launched an ambitious project to mine the entire Perungudi dumpyard, dividing it into six packages. At the heart of this effort is ‘Blue Planet Environmental Solutions’, a sustainability-driven organisation that has pioneered a Made-in-India biomining process. Their approach is designed not just to clear landfills, but to do so safely, sustainably, and with zero pollution.
ALSO READ: National Youth Day 2026: Swami Vivekananda’s legacy, significance, history and celebrations explained
The magnitude of operations at Perungudi was staggering. Every day, nearly 9,000 tonnes of waste were excavated, processed, and sorted, with each batch subjected to 52 stringent safety checks. The objective was ambitious yet clear: to restore the land while safeguarding the environment. From landfill to living room, Chennai has already turned 50 years of waste at Perungudi dumpyard into stunning furniture, bottles and slabs.
As of September 15, 2025, Chennai has turned a towering landfill into a testament of human ingenuity, reshaping 1.7 million cubic meters of refuse into objects of utility and beauty. Once a stark symbol of despair, the Perungudi dumpyard now resonates with a powerful promise—that when guided by technology, waste can become a source of creation rather than decay. The project shines as a beacon for cities around the world, proving that even towering mountains of refuse can be transformed into stepping stones toward sustainability and renewal.
