The Garbage Café is tackling the country's plastic crisis while giving a hearty meal to the poor and the homeless. Operating under the tagline, "more the waste, better the taste," the Garbage Café is opened in Ambikapur, in the state of Chhattisgarh.
How it works
The pickers bring their collected plastic to a waste management center that gives the collector a coupon. The coupon is then brought to the Garbage Café, which is located at the city's main bus stand, where the coupon is then exchanged for breakfast or lunch or they bring the plastic to the café.
The café offers a hearty meal for one kilogram of collected plastic. For a half kilogram, you can earn a substantial breakfast.
Purpose
The plan is to use all this plastic waste to build robust roads in Ambikapur, which is considered the second cleanest city of India after Indore.
Ambikapur already has one such road constructed completely out of 8 lakh plastic bags and asphalt. Not only is this a great way to pump plastic into something productive, but these roads also last longer and are more resistant to floods and other types of water damage.
And considering how our cities are knee-deep in all this rubbish, some even projected as being unlivable in the future, we really need initiatives like these to do some damage control.
Scheme
The budget provides Rs 5 lakh for the Garbage Cafe Scheme. There is hope to expand this scheme to eventually provide free shelter for homeless people in exchange for collecting garbage.
Advantage
The Garbage Cafe is worth emulating across the country.
How many schemes solve two problems in one go?
The cafe tackles waste and also gives hungry people a hot meal which in turn motivates them to collect more plastic.
Future
The idea is starting to catch up in other parts of India. Municipal authorities plan to open a string of Garbage Cafes in the country's capital New Delhi. Nearly 70 percent of plastic waste in the capital is from single-use items. It often ends up in landfills or clogging drains. It's extremely dangerous for hungry cows who graze in waste bins and consume plastic.
One such cafe is all set to open in Delhi's Najafgarh area.
They say you shouldn’t waste your food, but in this unique case, the waste you collect is what can get you food.
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