In Ambikapur, a city in Chhattisgarh, India, people are getting hot meals in exchange for plastic waste at the country’s first Garbage Café.
Opened in 2019 by the Ambikapur Municipal Corporation (AMC), the café allows residents to trade one kilogram of plastic for a full meal of rice, curries, dal, roti, salad and pickles. Half a kilogram of plastic earns breakfast items like samosas or vada pav.
The initiative was launched to tackle two problems at once – plastic pollution and hunger. Many of those who visit the café are homeless, ragpickers, or from low-income families.
“For people who collect plastic, this café provides both food security and helps clean the city,” said Vinod Kumar Patel, who runs the café that provides food for an average of 20 people each day.
One of them, Rashmi Mondal, who previously sold plastic to scrap dealers for just a few rupees said “Now, I can feed my family with the plastic I collect. It makes all the difference,” she said.
Workers at the café say the project has shown how waste can be turned into a resource. “If food is available in place of plastic, we are not only filling stomachs but also helping the environment,” said staff member Sharada Singh Patel.
BBC/ Oluwayemisi Owonikoko
Subscribe to our Telegram and YouTube Channels, and also join our WhatsApp Update Group.
