PLASTIC MOST PLEASING

Striving to relieve the burden of plastic waste, a group of sanitation workers in western MP turns domestic discards into pieces of art

- Anuraag Singh

IF it is beauty you seek, you only need look; blooming in the unlikeliest of corners amid waste and debris of our lives, creativity lives on. A group of 'safai kamgars' (sanitation workers) in Jhabua district of western Madhya Pradesh, extracting art out of discards as they relieve their town of the growing burden of plastic waste, have shown how art can stem from the seeds of rubbish.

Ambedkar Park (operated by the Jhabua municipality) houses the creative endeavours of a team of eight safai kamgars led by sanitation inspector Tony Maliya Pithya in Jhabua town.

Inspired the mantra of RRR Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, a tenet of the Swachh Bharat mission - the eight men collect plastic waste dumped at the trenching ground, turning it into wonderful showpieces, which have become the signature of Ambedkar Park.