Exchange trash for food at India’s first garbage cafe

In a first of its kind, Chattisgarh in India is now home to the country’s first garbage cafe. A new initiative, this is where visitors can bring in plastic trash and get a free meal in return. This cafe in Ambikapur owes its inspiration to the London Rubbish Cafe, and is a brainchild of Mr Manoj Singh, Commissioner of Ambikapur Municipal Corporation (AMC), and his daughter, Kamayani. What started as a brainwave for Kamayani turned into a reality with Mr Singh’s efforts; she further helped him with setting up the business model for the cafe as well.

The cafe is especially targeted at ragpickers and other such individuals, who collect plastic waster and would also welcome a free meal in return. Anyone turning up with 1 kg of plastic waste would be offered a full meal here, while 1.5 kg of the same will land the visitor an impressive breakfast. The collected waste would further be used in the construction of roads in the city.
In fact, the first road to be made of plastic waste in the city is already in place in the city; India has an estimated 100000 km of plastic roads as of now. Plastic, which is a nuisance otherwise and probably the biggest ecological threat today, turns quite useful when it comes to building roads. In fact, it is one of the sturdier options, and reports estimate those plastic roads last three times longer than regular roads.

It has to be noted that Ambikapur has been hailed as the second cleanest city in the country, led by Indore in the first position. The opening of this garbage cafe is another step towards the city’s aim to stay garbage-free and stick to more sustainable practices.