Motivate change

This is how a municipality should work – motivate change.

Just banning plastic or stopping its usage does not really reach those on the lowest rung of the economic ladder. And the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has realized that if it wants to stop the menace of plastic, it needs to motivate people to do it with an incentive – that’s precisely what it has done!

The BMC has started a program wherein it serves a meal in exchange for half a kilo of plastic waste. The ''Meal for Plastic'' initiative has been rolled out in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the state government's Aahar Scheme.

Now anyone can go to any of the 11 Aahar Center in Bhubaneswar and by giving half a kilogram of plastic waste, they can get the meal. Koraput Notified Area Council (NAC) in Koraput District had initiated a similar Program in October this year.

Now isn’t this a brilliant initiative? How about the richest municipal corporation – the Mumbai municipality also start something like this? Only one pointer – hope the food served is hygienic and good enough to fill the hungry’s stomach.