Plastic Waste Management
From Landfills to Oceans: India’s Struggle with Plastic Waste Reaches Critical Levels
India, generating a staggering 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste daily, faces severe impacts on human health, ecosystems, and the climate.
With audit-grade systems and deep science, Brisil is proving that cleantech manufacturing in India can be both scalable and investor-ready.
When Brisil joined Scale-Up, MIF’s no-equity accelerator, in January 2024, it was already building something rare in the Indian startup ecosystem: an IP-led cleantech manufacturing company grounded in deep science and circular thinking. At the heart of its innovation was a clean process to convert rice husk ash—an agricultural byproduct typically dumped or burned—into high-quality precipitated silica and activated carbon. Its materials had applications in everything from tyres to toothpaste.
But to win in this space, ingenuity is not enough. Breaking into high-value industrial supply chains demands more than just a breakthrough product.
That became clear when Brisil was on the verge of landing one of its biggest deals yet with a leading industrial player.
The ask was a significant supply of silica on a monthly basis, translating to a massive ramp-up in operations. But the bar to entry was even higher. To become an approved vendor, Brisil needed to clear an intensive audit—one that tested every layer of its business, from production efficiency to documentation rigour and compliance systems.
For founder Tanmay Pandya and his team, this was the chance to crack a game-changing deal, yes. But more than that, it was a chance to prove Brisil’s readiness to scale. That’s where Scale-Up’s deep-rooted and bespoke mentorship stepped in.
Through MIF, Brisil was paired with mentors Shailesh Ghodekar, Global Corporate Quality Assurance Head at Marico, and Nirlay Sheth, Executive Vice President – Procurement and Supply Chain Transformation at Marico. Over weeks of hands-on engagement and site visits, this mentor team helped Brisil strengthen the muscle that matters most in manufacturing: process discipline.
Together, they worked on:
With this support, Brisil cleared the audit successfully. 50% of its existing production capacity has now been earmarked for fulfilling this single partnership—setting the stage for larger revenue and expansion of its cleantech manufacturing capabilities.
But this contract is just one chapter. Brisil now operates on a stronger foundation: capable of handling scale, complexity, and future audits from equally demanding clients. MIF’s Scale-Up intervention helped convert a business-critical opportunity into a launchpad for Brisil’s long-term growth.
India, generating a staggering 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste daily, faces severe impacts on human health, ecosystems, and the climate.
In an interview with TheCSRUniverse, Suranjana Ghosh discusses MIF's objectives and progress on catalysing innovations in the plastic waste management space.
On World Creativity & Innovation Day 2025, we explore what truly defines transformative innovation through the eyes of India's most impactful innovators.
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