As single-use plastic ban kicks off, this Gujarat cafe offers food for plastic waste

As the ban on single-use plastic came into effect on Friday (July 1), a cafe in Gujarat is offering food in exchange for plastic waste. Yes, you read it right.

The ‘Natural Plastic Cafe’ in Junagadh was inaugurated by Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat on Thursday (June 30). The cafe has been set up by the Junagadh district administration.

Also read: New rules from July 1: Labour code, crypto TDS, single-use plastic ban

“Inaugurated Natural Plastic Cafe built by Junagadh District Administration. Here people will get natural food. In lieu of single-use plastic waste, natural food will also be given. This will control plastic pollution and increase awareness among people about natural food,” Governor Devvrat tweeted in Hindi with pictures.

जूनागढ़ जिला प्रशासन द्वारा निर्मित प्राकृतिक प्लास्टिक कैफे का उद्घाटन किया। यहां लोगों को प्राकृतिक आहार मिलेगा। सिंगल यूज़ प्लास्टिक वेस्ट के बदले में भी प्राकृतिक आहार दिया जाएगा। इससे प्लास्टिक प्रदूषण पर नियंत्रण होगा और प्राकृतिक आहार के प्रति लोगों में जागरुकता बढ़ेगी। pic.twitter.com/GDdSEdKBXD

— Acharya Devvrat (@ADevvrat) June 30, 2022

According to a Times of India report, the cafe is being run by Sarvoday Sakhi Mandal, a group of women that has tied up with farmers while the space and infrastructure have been provided by the district administration.

Junagadh collector Rachit Raj told the newspaper, “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 kg of plastic waste. More the plastic waste, the bigger the platter.”

All the beverages including some healthy ones like those made from betel leaf, rose, figs, and bel leaf, will be served in clay utensils. The menu also includes Kathiyawadi and Gujarat platters that will have baingan bharta, sev tameta, thepla and bajra rotlo. The district administration has hired an agency that will buy this waste, the report said.

According to the Union government, the list of single-use plastic items that are banned from July 1 includes earbuds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice- cream sticks, polystyrene (Thermocol) for decoration, plastic plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straw, trays, wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrers.

The Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, prohibits the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of plastic carry bags having a thickness less than 75 microns with effect from September 30, 2021, and having a thickness less than 120 microns with effect from December 31, 2022.

For effective enforcement of the ban on single-use plastic items, national and state-level control rooms will be set up and special enforcement teams will be formed for checking the illegal manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of banned single-use plastic items. States and Union Territories have been asked to set up border checkpoints to stop the inter-state movement of any banned single-use plastic items, the Union government said.