RFI No. 72052722RFI00003 - Addressing Ocean Plastics in Peru.pdf

RFI No.72052722RFI00003

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

ISSUANCE DATE: July 20, 2022

CLOSING DATE: Monday August 22, 2022, 5:00 pm (Lima Local Time)

SUBJECT: Request for Information (RFI) - New activity: "Addressing Ocean Plastics in Peru."

The United States Government, represented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the Republic of Peru is currently designing an activity that aims at addressing the issue of solid waste management in Peru.

Engagements to date demonstrate that there is local capacity to implement the resulting activity.

The Mission is therefore contemplating a restriction to eligibility.

This Request for Information (RFI) is addressed to all interested parties, including organizations, private companies and foundations that are not considered local entities or locally established as defined in ADS 303.6. Also see section III - Definitions.

A pre-solicitation conference will follow the review of all information received and will be announced in due time.

The purpose of this RFI threefold:

1. Elicit critique of, and comments on the draft activity description presented in Section II of this notice;

2. Gather ideas and/or strategies and/or approaches on how to procure and implement market-oriented intervention(s) aimed at efficiently decreasing the amount of plastic waste entering the environment, especially rivers and the ocean in Peru;

3. Solicit Capability Statements from local organizations.

Sincerely, Andre-Guy Soh Contracting/Agreement Officer USAID/Peru

Addressing Ocean Plastics in Peru

SECTION I. INSTRUCTIONS

Responses (comments, questions, suggestions, enhancements, and Capability Statements) to this RFI are due to limasolicitations@usaid.gov, asoh@usaid.gov and jzarzar@usaid.gov by August 22, 2022, 5:00 pm (Lima Local Time).

Electronic submissions must have the subject: "Response to RFI No. 72052722RFI00003 - Addressing Ocean Plastics in Peru."

All submissions must be in Microsoft Word.

General contributions in response to purposes 1 and 2 of this RFI (see cover sheet) must not exceed 4 pages. Feedback and comments may include:

● Additional innovative ideas and/or programs you have to address the Ocean Plastics problem in Peru;

● Constructive criticism to the overall approach described;

● Additional sectors that should be included or eliminated as partnering actors for this activity;

● Additional actions or focus areas that should be considered to maximize the potential of the activity described above to addressing plastic waste that is gender-sensitive, inclusive, and empowers women and youth.

Capability Statements must be succinct, not exceed 2 pages and must address the following:

1. Contact Name, Title and email address

2. Description of the organization's capacity to receive and manage bilateral/multilateral or other donor funding and the amounts (if any);

3. Presentation of past, present and future activities/projects managed in the sector of solid waste management - most importantly plastic waste management.

4. Brief financial presentation of your organization. This section should cover the last 5 years and include overall budget, independently conducted financial audits, and any other information

5. Describe your overall management capability and leadership i.e. operations, procurement, personnel, certifications etc.

6. Describe your organization's overall implementation capacity i.e. technical know-how, relationships, certifications, presence or capacity to deploy or establish operations in targeted geographies.

7. Confirmation of your organization’s registration in the System for Awards Management

(SAM)

8. Identify areas for further capability (management and implementation) strengthening

9. References mailto:limasolicitations@usaid.gov mailto:asoh@usaid.gov mailto:jzarzar@usaid.gov https://sam.gov/content/home https://sam.gov/content/home

SECTION II. NEW ACTIVITY INFORMATION

The U.S Agency for International Development (USAID)/Peru may use feedback and comments from this RFI to refine a future solicitation. If a solicitation/funding opportunity is issued, USAID/Peru intends to make one award with an estimated duration of five years in length, and a Total Estimated Amount not to exceed $20M. The type of award (Acquisition or Assistance) has not been determined yet.

Mechanism Number To be Determined Activity Name: Addressing Ocean Plastics in Peru Prime Partner: Local (Peru) Organization Award Number: To be Determined Implementing Mechanism Type: To be Determined Source Agency: U.S. Agency for International Development Implementing Agency: U.S. Agency for International Development Planned Funding: up to $20,000,000 Period of Performance: 5 years from award date

I. ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

1. Context:

Improperly managed waste negatively impacts ecosystem services, results in increased greenhouse gas emissions, drains municipal budgets, and presents a risk to human health. In Peru, the lack of sufficient solid waste management is of mounting concern. This is not only for its persistence in the environment, but also for the threats it poses to both marine life and human health (Lebreton et al. 2017; Thevenon 2014). Even when waste is not directly disposed of into the ocean, it is often carried there by rivers if not appropriately disposed of in sanitary landfills or recycled. In Peru, improper waste disposal threatens air quality, water quality, public health, and the health of both the Amazon and coastal ecosystem. In sections of the Itaya River in Iquitos, portions of the river are so polluted that river flow has been dramatically affected, creating stagnating water bodies that increase the threat of mosquito-borne illnesses and presents an additional risk to this already flood-prone area (1).

Peru’s Ministry of Environment (MINAM) (2020) reports that 21,657 metric tons of solid waste are generated per day in the country. Approximately 48% of that waste is disposed informally in open dumps and bodies of water (oceans, lakes, and rivers) (MINAM 2016). While this improper disposal of waste is illegal, the Directorate of Solid Waste Management for MINAM (DGMRS) reports that there are only 193 waste processing centers in the entire country. This leaves limited options for legal and sanitary waste disposal. Even of the waste that is appropriately disposed of in sanitary landfills, 59% are products that could have been otherwise recycled or reused. For example, though plastic represents 10% of the total waste stream in Peru (GCDL 2021, USAID 2021), only 1.9% of those plastics are recycled (MINAM 2018).

In 2020, Peru mismanaged up to 250,364 MT of plastic waste in the country’s coastal areas (Brooks et al, 2020). Some of these plastics enter the Humboldt Current, moving north from Peru to Ecuador and the Galapagos islands (Jones et al. 2021; Van Sebille et al. 2019).

Additionally, Lebreton et al. (2017) notes that the Amazon River, when compared globally, is one of the top 20 polluting rivers, with 1,4 x 105 m3/s of plastic waste released annually.

Worsening this, Peru’s production of waste increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (Beson et

al. 2021), highlighting the importance of addressing the ocean plastics issue at its source.

The Government of Peru has established several regulations that aim to better manage plastic waste and its disposal (MINAM 2016, 2018, 2020). However, opportunities to improve implementation and enforcement still exist. There is also a significant gap in the support the public receives for active participation in solutions. A multi-sector approach that integrates circular economy strategies is needed to develop and implement innovative and sustainable solutions. In order to make significant progress to address ocean plastic pollution, the issue must be tackled at its source. Therefore, USAID is interested in a basin approach that addresses the generation and mismanagement of solid waste, including plastics. Priority regions, in order of preference, are as follows: (1) Loreto; (2) Ica/Piura; and (3) Others. Under the third option, applicants must propose a geography or geographies and justify the rationale behind their selection.

There should also be a focus on improving the livelihoods and safety conditions of informal waste pickers/recyclers, understanding that private sector engagement (i.e. improved access to finance) is just one pathway for this. Further, approaches to improving the livelihoods and safety conditions of informal waste pickers/recyclers should be sensitive to the distinct risks faced by women and men, such as, but not limited to, gender-based violence, child and elder care responsibilities, and gender-based economic insecurity.

USAID envisions development of a pipeline of innovations for the solid waste management sector. Cultivation of this pipeline will align with Supreme Decree 003-2020-PRODUCE, which approved the Road Map towards a Circular Economy in the Manufacturing Sector. This decree established four fields of action to be considered by companies planning to implement a circular economy model for industrial production, namely: (i) sustainable industrial production; (ii) sustainable consumption; (iii) recovery of discarded materials and industrial waste management, and (iv) innovation and finance. the Supreme Decree that provides the framework for Peru’s Road Map towards a Circular Economy. By supporting and/or scaling approaches that work in partnership with and between local governments, the private sector, and civil society, effective models for replication will be generated. Additionally, the private sector partnerships will promote market-driven solutions to the generation and mismanagement of solid waste, including plastics.

2. Problem Statement:

Municipalities, civil society, and the private sector require a multi-sector partnership model for effective coordination on solid waste management in Peru.

3. Theory of Change statement:

IF municipal capacity of integrated solid waste management systems improves; and IF the public is supported to change behavior related to waste management; and IF access to capital, equipment, and business support services for the informal sector is strengthened;

THEN coordination between these key sectors improves, AND THEN the quantity of waste, including mismanaged plastic waste, reduces, AND THEN the amount of plastics and other waste entering waterways decreases

4. Magnitude of Change:

The identified local partner will work with consortiums of critical municipalities, the private sector, and civil society organizations to develop and implement a competitive, small grants program to identify and support multi-sector consortiums working to improve mismanagement of plastic waste. The partner will support innovative and/or scalable activities that: (1) Improve the capacity of integrated solid waste management systems, both formal and informal, at the sub-national level (i.e., within and across critical municipalities); (2) Increase informal waste pickers/recyclers (individuals and organizations) access to gender-sensitive capital, equipment, and business support services to start and grow small- and medium-sized recycling enterprises;

(3) and work with civil society to advance behavior change activities that support collection, processing, and recycling actions. It is envisioned that technical assistance and a complementary result based; small grants program will be part of the final activity. The scalability of these activities is based on their ability to model to municipalities their success. To this end, partner(s) should be prepared to develop agreements for sustainable financing during activity implementation.

Cross-cutting themes include sustainable finance, behavior change, capacity building, support to small- and medium-sized enterprises, partnership with critical municipalities, and women’s economic empowerment and leadership in the solid waste management sector. More specifically, partnership with women-led and indigenous-led organizations should be prioritized.

Possible methods include:

● Increase financial and technical resources for women-led and indigenous-led organizations to enable leadership in addressing ocean plastics issues.

● Create tangible economic opportunities for women and indigenous peoples in environmentally friendly industries by supporting the training, education, and enabling environment and opportunities necessary to ensure equitable access to jobs.

● Support behavior change and communications campaigns that help increase acceptance of women’s and indigenous people’s meaningful participation and leadership on ocean plastics.

● Identify and hold up women and indigenous peoples as agents of positive change and work with champions to support and encourage active participation.

5. Top Indicators (illustrative):

Applicants will be asked to propose outcome indicators based on their described interventions. This will be part of the evaluation criteria.

Higher-level outcome indicators:

● Reduced quantity of waste:

o Metric Tons of material reduced, reused, or recycled as a result of USG assistance o Metric Tons of waste disposed of in sanctuary landfills as a result of USG assistance o Improved capacity of integrated solid waste management systems o Respondents to the solicitation will be asked to identify indicator(s) and target(s) to measure this high-level result

● Changed public behavior related to waste management:

o Number of households / establishments (Municipalities) participating in 3R actions and/or solid waste management programs as a result USG assistance o Respondents to the solicitation will be asked to identify indicator(s) and target(s) to measure this high-level result

● Increased access to capital, equipment, and business support services for the informal sector:

o Respondents to the solicitation will be asked to identify indicator(s) and target(s) to measure this high-level result o Number of small businesses created and operating as a result of USG assistance

Lower-level output indicators (Illustrative):

● Number of private sector enterprises that engaged with the USG to support U.S. Foreign Assistance objectives

● Number of people trained in Reduce, Reuse Recycle (3Rs) and/or solid waste management supported by USG assistance

● Number of circular economy and/or waste management strategies developed, as a result of USG assistance.

● Number of formal or supported informal employment for women and men created in the green waste management sector, as a result of USG assistance. (Small businesses, jobs, and/or incomes)

● Percentage of female participants in USG-assisted programs designed to increase access to productive economic resources (assets, credit, income or employment)

(GNDR-2)

● Number of persons trained with USG assistance to advance outcomes consistent with gender equality or female empowerment through their roles in public or private sector institutions or organizations (GNDR-8)

● Percent of individuals with improved perceived quality of employment following participation in USG-assisted workforce development programs (EG.6-16)

● Number of innovations developed/supported via small grant programs as a result of USG assistance.

https://www.edu-links.org/sites/default/files/media/file/Quality-of-Employment-Brief-100521-508.pdf

SECTION III. DEFINITIONS

Locally Established partner (LEP) A U.S. or international organization that works through locally-led operations and programming models. LEPs:

● Have maintained continuous operations in-country for at least five years and

● materially demonstrate a long-term presence in a country through adherence or

● alignment to the following:

● Local staff should comprise at least 50 percent of office personnel,

● Maintenance of a dedicated local office,

● Registration with the appropriate local authorities.

Local Entity:

An individual, a corporation, a nonprofit organization, or another body of persons that— (1) is legally organized under the laws of; (2) has as its principal place of business or operations in;

(3) is majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of; and (4) managed by a governing body the majority of who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of a country receiving assistance from funds appropriated under title III of this Act. (c) For purposes of this section, “majority-owned’ and “-managed by” include, without limitation, beneficiary interests and the power, either directly or indirectly, whether exercised or exercisable, to control the election, appointment, or tenure of the organization's managers or a majority of the organization's governing body by any means.”

DISCLAIMER:

This RFI is issued solely for gathering information and market research for design planning purposes and does not constitute a Notice Of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) or a Request for Proposals. Responses to this RFI are not applications or proposals.

This RFI must not be construed as the U.S. Government commitment to issue a solicitation.

Respondents are directly and fully responsible for bearing all incurred expenses associated with preparation and submission of their RFI responses.

USAID reserves the right to use any, all, or none of the information submitted in response to this RFI in a future solicitation/funding opportunity. Thus, respondents must clearly mark or label all proprietary information contained in their submission. USAID will not disclose proprietary information. Failure to properly mark or label proprietary information may result in an inappropriate use of such information.

If a solicitation/funding opportunity is issued, it will be announced on www.sam.gov and/or www.grants.gov at a later date, and all interested parties must respond to that Solicitation/funding opportunity announcement separately from any response to this announcement.

[END OF RFI No.72052722RFI00003] http://www.sam.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/