This story is from July 23, 2019

India’s first garbage cafe to come up in Ambikapur

In a unique initiative, Ambikapur administration will start giving free meals to ragpickers, and just about anyone who brings in 1kg of plastic garbage.
India’s first garbage cafe to come up in Ambikapur
In recent years, Ambikapur has become a classic case study model for sanitation in the country
RAIPUR: In a unique initiative, Ambikapur administration will start giving free meals to ragpickers, and just about anyone who brings in 1kg of plastic garbage.
A city of less than 2 lakh, Ambikapur had jumped 15 positions to become the second cleanest city in the country in Swachh rankings, and is looking to take it a notch higher.
Ambikapur Municipal Corporation (AMC) will open India’s first ‘Garbage Café’ in 10 days at the city’s main bus stand.
Free breakfast and lunch will be provided to the poor and ragpickers in exchange for half a kilo or 1kg of plastic waste.
“Since 2015, the district administration has worked hard to maintain Ambikapur’s distinction as Chhattisgarh’s first dustbin-free city. This year’s municipal corporation budget has allocated Rs 6 lakh to the Garbage Café scheme to support the poor and keep the city plasticfree,” Ambikapur mayor Ajay Tirkey told TOI.
Under the scheme, the collected garbage will be sold at Solid Liquid Resources Management (SLRM) Centre from where a coupon will be issued. This coupon will allow people to avail breakfast or lunch at the canteen at Ambikapur bus stand. The plastic waste will be sent to a corporation-run recycling plant that turns it into granules for sale. Tirkey said AMC makes Rs 12 lakh a month by selling plastic granules and recycled paper. A 1.5-km-long road in Ambikapur is made entirely of plastic granules. In recent years, the city has become a model for sanitation schemes. All 48 wards of Ambikapur are dustbin-free. The city has an efficient solid waste management system that runs on 18 segregation centres, where dry and wet garbage are separated and sent to a processing centre. This was earlier a dump site but now boasts a 14-acre botanical garden.
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