The country’s first garbage cafe has been launched in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh. In this cafe, the Municipal Corporation provides food to the poor and homeless in lieu of plastic waste which is used for construction of roads.

The aim of the initiative is to raise awareness about the scale of the plastic pollution issue and encourage people to take action by collecting any plastic litter that they come across. The concept of bartering food for plastic waste has become hugely popular, leading to plans for more Garbage Cafes to open across India in the future.

Located right by the main bus stand in the city, a lot of poor people get their daily meal in return of plastic. In India, most cities lack efficient and effective waste management systems, with around only 14,000 out of 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste generated every day ending up being collected, according to figures by India’s environmental ministry. These staggering figures make India the 15th biggest plastic polluter in the world. .

In addition, the cafe tackles not just plastic waste but the issue of hunger. The budget provides Rs 5 lakh for the Garbage Cafe Scheme. 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.

The first such road in the state has been made in the city by mixing 8 lakh plastic bags. The road constructed by mixing plastic and asphalt is durable, because the water does permeate through it.

The popularity of the concept has spread elsewhere in India, such as the town of Mulugu in Telangana state, where authorities dish out one kilogram of rice in return for plastic waste of the same weight. Inspired by the Garbage Cafe, municipal authorities in New Delhi are now looking to open several of these in the Indian capital in the near future.