With World Environment Day just past, the Clean Technology Start-Up Challenge 2022 invites people to get involved in mitigating the impact of plastic pollution
With World Environment Day just past, the Clean Technology Start-Up Challenge 2022 invites people to get involved in mitigating the impact of plastic pollution
Waste generation from industries is a looming problem that confronts our society. Plastic reuse and recycling is a $60 billion opportunity. Methods to increase the recyclability of plastics in circulation include advanced feedstock recycling to novel single-material packaging. Then there are emissions from industrial processes. Gases like Carbon Dioxide and Sulphur Dioxide also add to the pollution problem. Industries are also looking to convert other waste into useable applications such as agriculture-soil modifiers, amenders, FCO-approved fertilizers and/or construction cement and Gypsum board. With the Indian government putting in place regulations, individual and industrial consumers are looking for alternative solutions so they can step up and take responsibility.
Among the multiple attempts to deal with this issue is the Clean Technology Start-Up Challenge 2022. This collaboration between Hindalco Industries Ltd. and Manush Labs aims to re-imagine the thousands of tons of industrial waste and catalyse and empower technological innovations in the domains of clean technology and circular economy. The programme will run for six months and support participants in prototyping, piloting, and scaling solutions through a network of technology and knowledge experts.
“We want to find a collaborative solution to reduce the environmental load and move closer to our ‘Net Zero carbon’ goal of 2050,” says Satish Pai, Managing Director, Hindalco Industries Ltd. and Director, Board of Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt. Ltd.
Piyush Verma, Founder and CEO of Manush Labs, explains that the challenge covers two problem statements. One is to replace up to 5,000 tons of plastic packaging annually. Second, utilise up to 7000 tonnes of FGD Process Waste annually. The programme provides a platform for entrepreneurs and innovators (even if they haven’t officially registered their start-up) to create solutions for these problem statements and “innovate to eliminate”.
Who can participate
Verma says that anyone from across the world can take part, “irrespective of the stage of their idea”. He is emphatic that students can also participate in the programme. “Those selected will get deep-technical and scaling support from Manush Labs and get a chance to run paid pilot with Hindalco Ind. Ltd. They will also benefit from the technology and domain support from global experts and a chance to explore joint development wherever possible. A start-up or researcher needs to select only one problem statement track. Teams can apply multiple times if they have unique solutions. Ultimately, only one application per team will be considered for the programme.“
For details of the programme, visit
