MUMBAI, Sept. 12 -- In a first, the civic administration will recycle Plaster of Paris (PoP) Ganesha idols immersed in artificial immersion ponds, temporary tanks and other water bodies, and has issued a ward-level standard operating procedure (SOP) for the retrieval and handling of these Ganesh idols. The move follows directions from the Bombay High Court. The SOP details how idols are to be retrieved, a process that must be completed within 24 hours of immersion. For smaller idols, personnel involved in retrieval have been directed to use protective gear. Cranes and mechanised equipment are to be deployed for larger idols. The retrieved idols will be transported to a storage facility at the Mulund dumping ground for further processing, according to Kiran Dighavkar, deputy municipal commissioner, solid waste management. This will be outsourced to an entity that will process an estimated 2,850 tonnes of retrieved PoP, which will undergo chemical disintegration or other similar processes. The recycled material could be reused in idol-making, plaster boards, ceramics, medical plaster, bricks or as filler material in the cement industry....