As of July 1, the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Government of India has prohibited the manufacture, import, stocking, and sale of single-use plastic. Following the nationwide ban, a café in Gujarat has come up with an amazing way to tackle plastic waste.
Amid the transforming initiative, the district administration of Junagadh is set to inaugurate Natural Plastic Café where they will accept payment in plastic. So, rather than paying bills with money, customers can pay with plastic waste for any food item they want to order at the cafe.
The customers will have to bring in plastic waste from their homes and they will be served food based on the plastic’s weight. The waste collected by the café will be given to a recycling agency that has a tie-up with the Junagadh administration.
“We want to promote clean and green Junagadh. To start with, we will give a glass of lemon juice or fennel juice for 500 grams of plastic waste and one plate of dhokla or poha for 1 kilograms of plastic waste. More the plastic waste, the bigger the platter,” said Rachit Raj, Junagadh Collector, in an interview.
While the district administration has provided the infrastructure, the café will be run and managed by a group of women from the Sarvoday Sakhi Mandal who have reportedly contributed Rs 50,000 for the development of the café.
More eco-friendly features of the cafe
Also, the cafe will only use organic and locally sourced ingredients from the farmers for the food. All the dishes will be served in clay utensils.
The beverages in the restaurant will be healthy – they will be made from betel leaf, rose, figs, and bel leaf, and will be served in clay utensils. The menu will have Kathiyawadi and Gujarat platters which will include baigan bharta, sev tameta, thepla and bajra rotio.
આજ રોજ માન.રાજ્યપાલશ્રી @ADevvrat ના હસ્તે ઉદ્દઘાટન થનાર ‘ પ્રાકૃતિક પ્લાસ્ટિક કેફે ‘ ના આયોજન અંગેની રીવ્યુ મિટિંગનું આયોજન જિલ્લાના સંલગ્ન અધિકારીશ્રીઓ સાથે કરવામાં આવ્યું. @CMOGuj @pkumarias @rmanjhu @trajendrabjp @Manish_guj @iArvindRaiyani @brijeshmeja1 @RaghavjiPatel pic.twitter.com/fMAvVlGFVq
— Collector Junagadh (@collectorjunag) June 28, 2022
India generates a massive 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste every year. Using plastics has a grievous impact on marine and terrestrial life. In order to contribute toward making our planet, and our home a better place, all of us need to stop using single-use plastic and find alternatives. Reducing waste will eventually lead to a healthier life and a better planet.
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