a caf in junagadh gujarat has given some food for thought to fight the plastic menace the newly inaugurated caf is inviting people to savour their delicacies in exchange for plastic waste all one needs to do is bring 500 gm of plastic waste for a glass of lemon or fennel juice and a kg to enjoy a plate of dhokla or poha more the plastic waste the bigger the platter they say but this is not just a stray example the garbage cafes in delhi are not exactly any specific eatery located at specific shopping malls plastic lao khana khao is an initiative implemented by the municipal corporations where a bag full of plastic waste shall give you a meal coupon which you can grab from the joints at the food court the concept of a garbage cafe first started a few years back with a food joint in ambikapur chhattisgarh where ragpickers and the homeless will be offered meals if they collect and deposit plastic wastes at the cafeearn in exchange for plastic wastekeeping in mind the israeli model of clean coins the municipal corporation of gwalior city rolled out a reward of rs 51 for those who send pictures or videos of a littered spot in the city in 2021 the authority issued a whatsapp number for receiving photos and videos around 400 photos and videos were sent on the issued whatsapp number on the first day the reward was sent via online transactionkerala city corporation has planned to incentivise citizens bringing in waste with green credit that can be used in selected shops in the citywith india generating 35 million tonnes of plastic waste annually and 25940 tonnes daily a ban on singleuse plastic products is all set to be implemented from july 1 onwards these small initiatives across the country may be supremely beneficial in reducing the plastic wastekanika raj who organises cleanliness drives in pune says rewards in any form be it credit food coupon or money will create a sense of accomplishment which will encourage people to put in more effort and do better than before someone who brought three plastic bottles in the first go will bring six the next time after getting incentivised for the first time rewards are given to program participants to encourage recycling rewards are given to encourage people to recycle more and promote a plasticfree environmentwe run three programs where we collect plastic waste from families staying in the slums and in turn provide meals scholarships for children etc which helps in the circular economy schemes that incentivise the collection of waste are always good and will bring behavioural change in people if you tell people that plastic has a significant value they will not litter but rather try to recycle themselves what people are getting in return is crucial people getting a discount on a rs 500 meal wont help rather a vada pav in exchange for plastic waste is what will draw a lot of