Bring 1 kg of plastic waste, eat dhokla full – drink syrup: such a cafe for women, where earthen utensils are cooked and served

Imagine you are sitting in a cafe where you are being served different types of sherbets and dishes in earthen pots. The food coming to your plate is coming straight from the farm and is completely natural. Similarly, if you wake up in the morning and feel like eating healthy food, but do not have money in your pocket, then there is no need to take tension. You take plastic waste from home ‘Natural Plastic Cafe’ can go in By depositing half a kg of plastic waste here, you will be able to enjoy the syrup and you will get to taste a variety of delicious dishes on 1 kg of plastic waste. That is, there is no need to spend even 1 rupee for eating food. In exchange for the plastic waste of the house, Junagadh’s Natural Plastic Cafe is providing people with a full breakfast.

The use of single-use plastic has been banned across the country from today i.e. July 1. That is, from now on you will neither be able to carry goods in a plastic bag nor will you be able to pack anything in plastic foil and sell it. A day before the implementation of this ban, Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat has inaugurated the country’s first natural plastic cafe in Junagadh to make the city plastic-free.

The command of this cafe will be in the hands of women. Five women of ‘Sarvodaya Sakhi Mandal’ of the district will run this cafe.

Women of self-help groups of the district will run this cafe, which will increase employment.

Lemonade will be available on half a kg of plastic, Poha-Dhokla on 1 kg
A variety of snacks and dishes are available instead of plastic in the natural plastic cafe built at Sakhi Mandal Center located at Azad Chowk, Junagadh. All are prepared and served in earthen pots. It is a completely cashless cafe, i.e. the customer does not need to spend a single rupee.

By depositing 500 grams of plastic in the cafe, people can enjoy lemonade, sherbet, amla juice, tea and coffee. Apart from this, after depositing 1 kg plastic, 1 plate poha, 1 plate dhokla, batata paunwa, millet roti, vegetables, thepla etc. will be served to the people. There will be only one mantra of this cafe, the more plastic doses, the more food items will be available.

The menu of the cafe also includes Kathiawadi platters and Gujarati platters.

Women will handle the galla with cooking
Even though the district administration has started the natural plastic cafe. But the entire responsibility of running it lies on the shoulders of women. The cafe’s operator Rekhaben Solanki along with four women will run this cafe. From cooking to serving, women will do all the work in the cafe. Even the women will handle the galla box (box for depositing money in the shop) of the cafe.

All the ingredients made in the cafe will be natural, for this it has been tied up with farmers doing organic farming directly. Vegetables are not only cooked but also sold in this cafe. The vegetables that farmers grow by doing organic farming, they also sell them by putting up stalls in cafes. Customers can buy it directly.

The district administration has also hired an agency for plastic collection.

Women will earn money by collecting such plastic
District administration officials say that out of 1400 organic farming farmers in Junagadh, about 10 farmers have been selected to supply natural food, who will supply fresh vegetables, fruits, pulses etc. to the cafe daily. In return, they will collect the plastic waste they get. Which will be sold to the plastic waste collection company for recycling.
The money women will get in exchange for this plastic litter, they will extract their profit from it. Similarly, instead of plastic, people will be fed delicious and organic food.

You will be able to order food from Swiggy-Zomato by giving plastic sitting at home
The cafe has also been linked with online food delivery apps like Swiggy and Zomato. In the coming time, people will be able to order food by giving plastic waste sitting at home. You will be able to order organic food and vegetables, fruits, pulses etc.

Garbage Cafe was started in the cleanest city of Chhattisgarh
in Ambikapur city of Chhattisgarh in 2019 ‘Garbage Cafe’ had begun. This initiative was taken by the Municipal Corporation to make the city plastic free. Here breakfast-food was given in exchange for plastic waste. Food was served on bringing 1 kg of plastic to the cafe and breakfast on half a kg of plastic. Samosa, Aloo Chaap, Bread Chaap, Idli were available in breakfast. In lieu of one kg plastic, two vegetables, 4 rotis, half plate rice, lentils, salad, pickle, papad, sweet curd were given.

In the matter of cleanliness, the name of Ambikapur city comes second after Indore.

However, after three years, this initiative of Garbage Cafe has started loosening up. People do not go with plastic waste but start asking for food in exchange for money. This report has come out only in January 2022.

The country’s capital Delhi got the first ‘Garbage Cafe’
In the year 2019 itself, ‘Garbage Cafe’ was started in a restaurant of ‘Vardhman Mall’ located in Dwarka in Najafgarh Zone of Delhi. In this cafe, instead of 1 kg of plastic waste, delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner were served.

People can collect single-use plastic bottles, plastic cans, cold drinks and other plastic waste in the cafe.

This scheme was started by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation under the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ in the Najafgarh zone. Under which, instead of 1 kg plastic waste, lunch and dinner, while 250 grams of plastic waste, breakfast was started.