As more and more small and medium businesses contribute to reducing plastic waste, this Gujarati cafe’s idea to advance the cause stands out from the crowd.
The city of Junagadh has made the decision to open a cafe that will take plastic waste in exchange for food.
The food will be served based on the waste that customers bring in. One kg of plastic waste, for example, will get one plate of poha. The best part about this eco-friendly cafe is that all of the food’s ingredients are sourced from local farms.
Furthermore, the cafe will be run by Sarvoday Sakhi Mandal, a women-led organisation that has collaborated with farmers to create this space.
The menu of the cafe includes traditional Gujarati dishes such as bengan bharta, sev tameta (a dish made out of sev and tomatoes), and thepla.
All beverages will be served in clay utensils and the cafe has even set up a shop where patrons can buy the ingredients directly. According to Rekha Solani, a member of the Sarvoday Sakhi Mandal, the women of the organisation have set up this cafe by investing Rs 50,000 from their own share.
Rachit Raj, the collector of Junagadh said, “We want to promote (a) clean and green Junagadh. To start with, we will give a glass of lemon juice or fennel juice for 500 gm plastic waste and one plate of dhokla or poha for 1 kg of plastic waste. More the plastic waste, bigger the platter,” in a statement to TOI.