Welcome to India’s first garbage cafe in Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh: They say you shouldn’t waste your food, but in this unique case, the waste you collect is what can get you food. India just launched its very first ‘garbage cafe’ in the city of Ambikapur in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh. An initiative of the Municipal Corporation, the idea is to provide hearty food to the homeless and poor, while incentivizing garbage collection and keeping the streets clean. The cafe gives you a free meal for every kilo of trash you collect or a substantial breakfast for 500 grams of it.
“The solid waste management of the Ambikapur Municipal Corporation was successful. We have come up with a new provision that if someone brings one kilogram of plastic, he or she will get food for free and on a half kilogram of plastic, they will get breakfast free. We have named this ‘Garbage Cafe’,” said Ambikapur Mayor Ajay Tirkey.
“Our door-to-door waste collection process is already in place. We also re-sell plastic. The initiative will become successful. In the budget, we have allocated Rs. 6 lakh for the cafe,” he added.
“Ambikapur Municipal Corporation stood at the second spot in the country in cleanliness. Under the schemes, it is proposed that rag pickers would get a free meal for one kilogram of plastic and breakfast for half-kilogram plastic. A man gets Rs. 20 in exchange of one kilogram of plastic. The scheme of Dr Raman Singh is already there which provides Rs.1 per kg grain. The initiative would fail soon,” said Janmajay Mishra, Opposition Leader in AMC.
In the budget, they have allocated Rs. 5 Lakh for the Garbage Cafe Scheme. Besides this, they have even planned to provide free shelter for the vagrant people collecting waste. Ambikapur has already constructed a road made with plastic granules and asphalt. By blending 8 Lakh plastic bags, the officials have made the first road using plastic. They even say that the road made of plastic and asphalt is truly durable for a long time. The reason is that the water enters and spreads through it.
Nivedita Pandey, a local, said, “The initiative is good. Our city will become cleaner after this.”
“Ragpickers used to give garbage to private people in exchange for money. Now, when they give plastic garbage to the government, they will get food in return. The city would become more beautiful after this,” said another Ambikapur resident, Manoj.
This scheme is being linked to the cleanliness campaign. Ambikapur is the second largest city in the country in the ‘Sanitation Campaign’. Tirkey said the corporation has already restricted the use of plastic carry bags.
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