Raipur: An innovative idea to tackle the menace of urban waste by the Ambikapur Municipal Corporation (AMC) in north Chhattisgarh has been lauded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 127th episode of Mann Ki Baat, aired on Sunday.
The PM cited how the ‘Garbage Café’, opened by the AMC in Ambikapur town, has emerged as a singular blend of cleanliness and service, fetching a good lunch or dinner or a breakfast in exchange of plastic waste.
“A unique example of cleanliness and social initiative is seen in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh. A kg of plastic waste fetches a good meal and half a kg of plastic waste gets snacks in the ‘Garbage Café’ being operated by the AMC”, Mr. Modi said in his Maan Ki Baat.
The initiative not only helps in cleanliness but also creates social awareness and foster community living, he said.
The Garbage Café, opened by the AMC in 2019 under the eye-catching slogan, “More the waste, better the taste”, offers a wholesome lunch or dinner consisting of rice, two vegetable curries, dal, roti, salad and pickles in exchange of one kg of plastic waste and quintessential Indian breakfast snacks, samosa and vada pav, in lieu of half a kg of plastic waste.
The initiative is funded through the AMC’s sanitation budget.
The initiative is an attempt to resolve the two key urban issues, plastic pollution and food insecurity, a senior officer of the AMC told this newspaper.
It encourages the poor people like rag pickers and street children to collect the plastic waste in the garbage dumps, for their sustenance, helping the town remain plastic waste and pollution free, in the process, the official added.
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