The concept of trading in your garbage for a meal may not be a novel one, with the practice already spreading out in some parts of the US and Europe, but it’s only recently touched Asian soil. A few “rubbish cafes” have been operating in Cambodia for some time and now, India is about to open their very first “garbage cafe.” It will be located in the city of Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh at their main bus stand.
(West Philippine Sea Now Faces the Big Threat of Trash and Ocean Pollution)
The initiative of their Municipal Corporation is simple: providing the poor and homeless a few meals a day while keeping them productive and encouraging a culture of cleanliness. They hope to promote the voluntary actions of people to collect trash and keep the streets clean. They do this by instituting an exchange of 1 free meal for every kilo of trash turned it, or 1 full breakfast for 500 grams.
This garbage cafe even varies a little from other examples around the world. Instead of simply disposing the trash handed in, the city government plans to use the plastic waste in constructing new roads. After all, roads made out of plastic and asphalt have been proven to be more flood- and water-resistant. They also generally last longer and are more durable. The city of Ambikapur has already seen this true with one such road made out of 8 lakh plastic bags and asphalt.
They hope to extend this project to providing shelter for the homeless in exchange for garbage.
Do you think they should do something like this in the Philippines?
