The Swacch Bharat Mission isn’t only educating people about giving up plastic — it’s also getting creative in doing so.
A cafe set up In Gujarat’s Dahod district under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is providing free snacks and tea in exchange for plastic waste. The ‘plastic cafe’ has been set up in front of the Dahod tehsil panchayat as part of the Centre’s ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ and may be a first for the state, Deputy District Development Officer N P Patanwadiya told PTI.
The cafe rewards people for giving up plastic — those who bring in one kilogram of plastic waste will get snacks, while those bringing in half that quantity will get tea.
“(The cafe) was set up two days ago with an aim to make the tribal-dominated Dahod district plastic-free,” Deputy District Development Officer N P Patanwadiya said. And the cafe doesn’t only help collect and reduce use of plastic — it also provides employment to women. These snacks are being prepared by women under the Gujarat government’s ‘Sakhi Mandal’ scheme, the official said.
The cafe has reportedly already started collecting sizable amounts of plastic waste, which is then sent for recycling. The government plans expand the initiative to other tehsils in the district if it is successful.
