Waste for Meal, Garbage Café of Chhattisgarh Town Finds Mention in PM’s Mann Ki Baat
Raipur: The innovative idea of the Ambikapur Municipal Corporation (AMC) in northern Chhattisgarh to combat the urban waste menace was lauded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 127th episode of Mann Ki Baat, which aired on Sunday.
The Prime Minister stated that ‘Garbage Cafe’ opened by AMC in Ambikapur town has emerged as a unique blend of cleanliness and service, offering a good lunch or dinner or breakfast in exchange for plastic waste.
“A unique example of cleanliness and social initiative is seen in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh. At the ‘Garbage Cafe’ run by AMC, one kg of plastic waste brings a good meal and half a kg of plastic waste gets snacks,” Mr. Modi said in his Maan Ki Baat.
He said the initiative not only helps in cleanliness but also creates social awareness and promotes community living.
Opened by AMC in 2019 with the slogan “More waste, better taste”, Garbage Cafe offers a healthy lunch or dinner of rice, two-vegetable curry, dal, roti, salad and pickle in exchange for one kg of plastic waste instead of half a kg of plastic waste and excellent Indian breakfast snacks, samosa and vada pav.
The initiative is funded from the AMC’s cleanup budget.
The initiative is an attempt to solve two major urban problems, plastic pollution and food insecurity, a senior official of AMC told this newspaper.
This encourages poor people, such as rag pickers and street children, to collect plastic waste from dumpsites to earn their living, helping to keep the town free of plastic waste and pollution in the process, he added.
