Published Online:September 2024
Product Name:The IUP Journal of Case Folio
Product Type:Article
Product Code:IJCF010924
Author Name:Koti Vinod Babu and V Namratha Prasad
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Management
Download Format:PDF
Pages:15
The case study talks about the contributions made by India-based plastic recycling startup Banyan Sustainable Waste Management Pvt. Ltd. in building India’s circular economy. It was in the early 2010s that Banyan’s Founders Mani Kishore Vajipeyajula and Rajkiran Madangopal learned that the unscientific recycling methods used by plastic recyclers in India’s informal sector were not only causing untold health damage to the people who did the processing, but were also harming the environment irrevocably. That prompted them to establish Banyan in 2013. Banyan employed a varied range of technologies to ensure a safe and effective plastic recycling process. The case discusses in depth the functioning of Banyan—a vertically integrated plastic recycling company involved in all the three stages of plastic recycling—collection (presorting and postsorting), recycling, and the subsequent sale of recycled plastic to companies. It describes Banyan’s product as Better Plastic that could compete with virgin plastic on aspects such as quality, price, and reliability. The case ends with a look at the challenges being faced by Banyan and the various avenues for its growth. Considering the fact that the circular economy can be an important instrument to tackle the planetary crises on climate, biodiversity, and pollution, can Banyan spearhead India’s circular economy?
In October 2022, India-based plastic recycling startup Banyan Sustainable Waste Management Pvt. Ltd. (Banyan or Banyan Nation) bagged the Social Enterprise award, 2022, at The Economic Times Start-up Awards.4 Mani Kishore Vajipeyajula (Vajipey), Banyan Co-Founder, said, “Our goal is to achieve scale and profitability while staying true to our core mission of solving the menace of plastic pollution and creating lasting environmental and social impact.”5