Ambikapur / Junagadh – India is witnessing a remarkable social and environmental innovation — cafés where plastic waste is the only currency.
In Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh, one of India’s cleanest cities, the municipal corporation has launched the country’s first “Garbage Café.” Here, anyone can exchange 500 grams of plastic waste for breakfast or 1 kilogram for a full meal of rice, lentils, curry, and papad. The café not only feeds the underprivileged but also sends collected plastic for recycling, where it is reused in road construction and green projects.
Following Ambikapur’s success, Junagadh, Gujarat introduced the “Prakrutik Plastic Café” with support from the local administration and women’s group Sakhi Mandal. At this café, half a kilo of plastic gets you lemon or fennel juice, while a full kilo earns a nutritious snack or breakfast. All meals are prepared using produce from local farmers, served in eco-friendly clay utensils, avoiding single-use plastics.
Since its launch in 2022, Junagadh’s café has collected over 3,000 kilograms of plastic and earned nearly ₹9 lakh through a mix of recycling and customer payments. It has also provided a steady source of income for local women and promoted organic farming.
Officials say the model is a win-win: it reduces plastic pollution, supports recycling, empowers women, and ensures the poor don’t go hungry. The initiative has already gone viral on social media, with citizens across India calling for similar cafés in other cities.
By blending sustainability with social good, India’s “trash-for-food” cafés are showing the world how waste can be turned into both nourishment and opportunity.