Pay with plastic for a meal, India’s first garbage cafe in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR: India’s first garbage café launched in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh, on July 19. The Ambikapur municipal corporation will provide food to the poor and homeless instead of plastic waste.

Fetching 1 kg of plastic waste will provide a full meal, while those collecting 500g will be served breakfast. The plastic collected by the municipal corporation will be used to construct roads. Besides offering food, there is also a definitive plan to also provide shelter to over 100 homeless people in the city.

Ajay Tirkey, Mayor of Ambikapur, said that the cafe would be set up at the city’s main bus stand. There is a plan to provide free shelter to the homeless who collect plastic waste. Ambikapur already has a road made with plastic granules and asphalt.

Café scheme is being linked to the cleanliness campaign. The mayor said that the corporation has already restricted the use of plastic carry bags. By adding it to the Garbage Cafe scheme, it will be implemented strictly.

Ambikapur made remarkable progress from last year’s 40^th rank to mark its emphatic presence as the top civic administered town in solid waste management.