23-year-old serves hot meals to slum dwellers in exchange for plastic bottles

Since 2018, Shakti, a resident of slums in Bhandup, came across two problems in his area; garbage lying around the slums, and people struggling to get a meal at times

Mumbai: For the past four days, 13-year-old Deepak Maru, a resident of Chamunda Nagar slums in Bhandup East has been waking up around 6am and getting his friends along to go collect plastic bottles from his area.

HT visited one such event on Sunday June 11 in Bhandup east. Deepak Maru is one of the children there. Maru collected 100 bottles in the last 3-4 days. “I was told the one to get the maximum bottle gets the price. There is so much garbage around the nallah nearby that it is easy to get the bottles. I am looking forward to see what the price is.” Maru wins the first prize in this event and gets a ration kit as a winning prize. (Hindustan Times)

On Sunday, he exchanged them for a hot meal at an initiative by 23-year-old Shakti Yadav, called ‘Buy food with plastic bottles’, which started in September 2020. The initiative also gives additional rewards to the top three collectors each Sunday.

Since 2018, Shakti, a resident of slums in Bhandup, came across two problems in his area; garbage lying around the slums, and people struggling to get a meal at times.

“In 2018, when I was living in slums of the Bhandup, I used to see all garbage on the road and in slum area. In monsoons when the nallahs used to overflow, I used to see these bottles choking up nallahs. This water would enter our homes through the sewer lines. I used to hate monsoons,” he said.

“Once, I saw a video on Instagram where people were exchanging plastic bottles for food. I thought about doing this activity here, my friends laughed and said these ideas are not possible in Indian slums. I researched more about it and reached out to the founders of the ‘Buy food with plastic’ organisation. One day the founder called me and we exchanged ideas. But for two years it did not materialise and I continued my MBA.”

“Then in 2020, during lockdown I saw people in the slums struggling for one meal a day and I reached out to the organisation again, and we started implementing this.” The program not only helps them recycle plastic, but also helps raise awareness amongst kids on the effects of plastic pollution.

HT visited one such event on Sunday June 11 in Bhandup east. Deepak Maru is one of the children there. Maru collected 100 bottles in the last 3-4 days. “I was told the one to get the maximum bottle gets the price. There is so much garbage around the nallah nearby that it is easy to get the bottles. I am looking forward to see what the price is.” Maru wins the first prize in this event and gets a ration kit as a winning prize.

More than 233 people, adults and children, benefitted from the event and where they serve hot meals in exchange of plastic bottles. The Sunday’s event collected 4615 plastic bottles, which will be sent to the ‘Recircle’ organisaton for recycling.

Standing in the queue, Mangal Ingle, one of the women participating in the event, said, “Earlier they provided ration kits during lock down, now we have hot meals here. The word spreads fast when this event happens . Not just kids, adults are also excited for this. We like to see our kids busy in this activity,” she added.

Surekha Bodavade, another resident of the slum said, “Kids are so excited for this that they bring the bottles for us as well. It is good to see these children so excited for their Sunday.”

Due to regulations and necessary permissions still being in process, Shakti is still waiting to get funds from the intiative’s parent organistaion. Currently, these events are organised using local contributions through his friends and donors in kind once in two months. Shakti’s college friend’s organisation ‘Happie Foundation’ run by Vishal Sahani provides volunteer and logistics support for these events.

After the meals, when volunteers arrived with two packed boxes, children shouted in excitement. Some were seen jumping and dancing when the boxes arrived. These boxes had colouring book and pencil colours for the children. After the meals, children participate in this workshop which has drawings related to environment and plastic pollution. All children colour the first drawing and then take home their book to finish colouring the remaining drawing as per their convenience.

“We are not providing them the meals for free. They are buying it from us with the plastic bottles they collect from their own vicinity. I want to make plastic bottles a currency in the future so that it is removed from the environment, recycled and people also get a meal in exchange,” adds Yadav.

By 2025, Yadav dreams of setting up a ‘Buy food with plastic’ restaurant where anyone can get a hot meal in exchange of plastic bottles and can use the washroom and bathroom facilities in the restaurant.