Call for Concept Notes: SACEP launches Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for South Asia Project

Deadline: 5-Nov-22

The Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for South Asia (PLEASE) Project is searching for concept notes that can eventually be developed into project proposals and can result in a meaningful and recurrent reduction in plastic waste that otherwise would have accumulated in South Asia’s rivers and seas and that would not have been possible without support from the project.

Implemented by South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP), and funded by the World Bank and Parley for the Oceans, the project development objective of the Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for South Asia (PLEASE) project is to catalyze actions that reduce the flow of plastic pollution into South Asian Seas.

Objectives

This call for concept notes is seeking creative innovations that target change on ground and support for select innovative ideas, respectively at local, national and/or regional levels (within participating SAR nations), while being rooted in one of the following Parley AIR4 thematic categories: Avoid (Reduce and Replace), Intercept (Retrieve and Recycle) and Redesign (Create New Materials; Create Smart Products;
Develop New Industry Standards), which includes and innovates beyond the 3R’s framework (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) of the past several decades.

Component

Supporting Competitive Block Grant Investments to Reduce Plastic Waste
- Supporting circular plastic economy solutions to reduce plastic waste by implementing a program of regional competitive block grant investments, providing Regional Competitive Block Grants (“RBGs”) to eligible organizations in South Asia (“Eligible RBG Beneficiaries”).
- Facilitating exchange of circular plastic economy knowledge between Eligible RBG Beneficiaries and selected South Asian countries and promoting awareness raising activities.

Thematic Categories

All Concept Notes must be rooted in Parley AIR thematic categories:

Avoid (Reduce and Replace)
- Avoid plastic wherever possible and replace with alternative, eco-innovative materials.
- Opt for minimal or no packaging and refuse single-use plastics (e.g. bags, bottles, utensils, straws, lids).
- Plan ahead. Carry reusable alternatives.
- Talk about it. Educate and empower your friends and family to adopt a plastic-conscious mentality.

Intercept (Retrieve and Recycle)
- Inform yourself on local recycling and composting
- Support businesses that support the oceans – look for recycling and upcycling initiatives, plastic alternatives, waste reduction policies, etc.
- Participate in a beach cleanup (or lake, river, park cleanup). It’s one thing to talk about the problem and another to confront it head on.
- Speak up. If you come across a major pollution source or plastic waste emergency, let Parley know

Redesign (Move beyond the Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Framework)
- To solve plastic for good, they must reinvent the material, methods and thinking behind it. Get creative. They have imaginations for a reason.
- Question both the reason-to-be and end-of-life for every item you use.
- Support the use of eco-innovative materials and alternatives to plastic
- Support/implement policies that prevent unnecessary plastics (like microbeads and plastic bags).