The sea returns Mumbai’s garbage: 2,500 MT washes ashore after heavy rains

5 min readMumbaiUpdated: Jul 27, 2026 05:46 AM IST Civic officials said plastic waste, thermocol, clothes, wooden debris and other household refuse dumped into open drains and nullahs is carried into the sea through stormwater drain outfalls before being pushed back onto the shoreline during high tides. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee/File) More than 2,500 metric tonnes (MT) of garbage washed up on Mumbai’s beaches after a week of heavy monsoon rain and high tides, exposing the staggering volume of waste flowing through the city’s drains into the Arabian Sea. The clean up, undertaken by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has once again highlighted how indiscriminate dumping and inadequate waste management continue to pollute Mumbai’s coastline. Civic officials said plastic