GIZ Circular Economy Solutions Preventing Marine Litter in Ecosystems

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Enriched International · Found: 2026-03-11 11:10

GIZ program implementing circular economy solutions to prevent marine litter across multiple developing country ecosystems, focusing on waste reduction, sustainable design, recycling, and Extended Producer Responsibility schemes.

Source: https://giz.de/en/projects/circular-economy-solutions-preventing-marine-litter-ecosystems

Funding Details

Funder: GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) / German Federal Ministry for the Environment
Funding Goal: Reduce marine litter in Indian riverine and marine ecosystems through circular economy approaches, strengthening EPR compliance, digital tracking systems, and technological solutions for plastic waste reduction and recycling.
Funding Amount: €7.8 million total financial commitment; co-financed by the European Union (€2.5 million) (7.800.000 € – 7.800.000 €)
Deadline: 2026-09-30 (Fixed)
How to Apply: No public application process is described. Organizations interested in partnering or subcontracting should contact the project lead directly. GIZ may issue tenders for specific services via the GIZ procurement portal.
Target Region: India (Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala)
Contact: Rachna Arora — rachna.arora@giz.de | GIZ Head Office: Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 32+36, 53113 Bonn, Germany | Phone: +49 228 44 60-0
Last Checked: 2026-03-11 16:51

Application Checklist

Eligibility

Project is implemented in India only (Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala) — not applicable for organizations working outside India
No open call for applications — partnerships must be negotiated directly with GIZ project management
Primary partners are government bodies (Ministry of Environment, CPCB, SPCBs); private sector and NGO sub-contractors may be considered

Project Scope

Project focus includes EPR compliance, digital monitoring tools, and reduce-reuse-recycle (3R) plastic solutions
Technological demonstrations of plastic waste reduction must align with India's EPR Rules 2022 and SUP ban framework

Required Documents

Contact project lead (rachna.arora@giz.de) for any potential subcontracting or partnership inquiries; formal tenders via GIZ procurement portal

Constraints

EU co-financing (€2.5m) may impose additional procurement and reporting obligations for any sub-contracted partners
Project ends September 30, 2026 — no new long-term engagements likely to be initiated

Summary

The "Circular Economy Solutions preventing Marine Litter in Ecosystems" (CES) project is a bilateral development cooperation project implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV). Focusing on India, the project addresses the country's significant plastic waste challenge — over 3.5 million tonnes generated annually — through circular economy approaches targeting riverine and marine ecosystems. The EU co-finances the project with €2.5 million as part of the overall €7.8 million budget. The project operates across three main pillars: enhancing compliance with India's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework and single-use plastics (SUP) ban, developing national digital portals for tracking plastic leakage and monitoring, and demonstrating technological waste reduction and recycling solutions in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. It works closely with the Indian Ministry of Environment, Central Pollution Control Board, and State Pollution Control Boards. Importantly, this is a GIZ implementation project — not an open grant call for external organizations. GIZ acts as the implementing partner, working with Indian government bodies, urban local bodies, waste management agencies, producers, and recyclers. External NGOs or companies may potentially be contracted as sub-implementers, but there is no publicly advertised application process described on this page. The project runs until September 2026 and contributes to SDGs 8, 11, 12, and 14 (Life Below Water). Policy markers include biodiversity, gender equality, and climate adaptation as significant secondary objectives.

Historical Context

Project started August 1, 2020. India introduced its national EPR framework for plastic packaging in 2019 and published official EPR guidelines in 2022. The Government of India announced a ban on single-use plastics on July 1, 2022. Last content update on the GIZ page: July 2024.

Why it was added

GIZ/bilateral waste capacity building

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