Addressing Ocean Plastics in Peru | 72052722RFI00002

Opportunity Information: Apply for 72052722RFI00002

The USAID Peru opportunity titled "Addressing Ocean Plastics in Peru" (Funding Opportunity No. 72052722RFI00002) is an information-gathering request aimed at shaping future support to reduce plastic pollution flowing from Peru into rivers and marine environments. Rather than immediately funding a standard project proposal, USAID is seeking input from a wide range of interested parties, including private companies, non-governmental organizations, civil society groups, and government partners, to understand why Peru's solid waste management improvements have been difficult to sustain or scale. The core focus is to identify the real-world development bottlenecks that are keeping plastic waste levels high and to clarify what kinds of partnerships, strategies, and interventions would be most effective if USAID were to invest in this area.

At the center of the request is the recognition that weak or uneven solid waste management systems can lead directly to ocean plastics, especially when collection coverage is incomplete, disposal practices are inadequate, recycling markets are limited, and enforcement of regulations is inconsistent. USAID is asking respondents to describe the specific challenges that have "stymied" progress in Peru, meaning the institutional, financial, technical, and behavioral obstacles that prevent better performance across the waste value chain. The intention is to move beyond general statements about pollution and instead pinpoint practical constraints and their underlying causes, such as gaps in municipal capacity, lack of reliable financing for collection and disposal, insufficient infrastructure, fragmented responsibilities across agencies, limited data for decision-making, weak incentives for segregation and recycling, or market barriers that make circular business models hard to sustain.

A major objective is to explore how USAID could partner with stakeholders to address those constraints while supporting Peru's Ministry of Environment (MINAM) and its Circular Economy Initiative. This indicates that USAID is interested in solutions that do not only focus on cleanup, but also reduce waste generation, improve recovery and reuse, strengthen recycling systems, and encourage circular approaches where materials stay in the economy longer instead of leaking into nature. In practice, that could involve policy support, improved coordination and governance, investments that catalyze private-sector participation, pilot models that can be scaled, behavior change and community engagement, and tools that help track plastic flows and measure impact.

In terms of administrative details, this opportunity is listed under the Environment activity category (CFDA 98.001) and is managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) mission in Lima, Peru. The instrument type is listed as "Other," and the category is "Earmark," which often signals a designated funding focus area. Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is open to any type of entity as long as they meet any additional conditions stated in the full notice. The posting was created on January 10, 2022, with an original closing date of February 10, 2022. The notice references an award ceiling of up to $20,000,000 and anticipates a single award, suggesting USAID may be exploring a sizable, consolidated activity or mechanism if it moves forward after gathering responses.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as USAID Peru reaching out to the broader community of actors working on waste management, plastics, recycling, and environmental protection to collect grounded perspectives on what is not working, why it is not working, and what a well-designed partnership could look like to reduce plastic leakage into Peru's waterways and coastal and ocean ecosystems while advancing MINAM's circular economy priorities.

• The Agency for International Development, Peru USAID-Lima in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Addressing Ocean Plastics in Peru" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 98.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 10, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 10, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $20,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for 72052722RFI00002

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: