All change: India's railways bring back tea in clay cups in bid to banish plastics

Stations switch to humble earthen kulhads in move to cut down on toxic waste and boost incomes of village potters

A small and humble relic from India's past is about to stage a major comeback. At all 7,000 railway stations in the country, tea will be served in earthen cups known as kulhads.

The kulhads, redolent of a bygone pastoral era, are unpainted, unglazed and have no handles, but are perfectly biodegradable and environment-friendly, which is why the country's railways minister, Piyush Goyal, has said they will replace plastic cups as part of the government's goal of making India free of single-use plastic.