UNEP - Circular and POPs-free Plastics in Africa
Enriched UN / Multilateral · Found: 2026-03-11 12:26
US$90M project covering Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe. Targets hazardous chemicals in plastic products and unintentional POPs generation. Promotes circular approaches to plastics.
Source: https://unep.org/gef/projects/circular-and-pops-free-plastics-africa
Funding Details
- Funder
- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) / Global Environment Facility (GEF)
- Funding Goal
- Reduce the import, production and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in plastic-containing products in the automobile, construction and electronics sectors, and reduce the generation of unintentional POPs. Promotes circular approaches to plastics in five African countries.
- Funding Amount
- Total project value USD 90.9 million (GEF grant USD 11 million, co-financing USD 79.9 million)
- Deadline
- 28 February 2030 (project end date; started 20 September 2024) (Fixed)
- How to Apply
- Not applicable — project is pre-approved and implemented by UNEP with national government counterparts. No open call for applications.
- Target Region
- Africa: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe
- Contact
- unep-gef@un.org
- Last Checked
- 2026-05-07 03:01
Application Checklist
Eligibility
Project Scope
Constraints
Summary
The Circular and POPs-free Plastics in Africa project is a UNEP-implemented GEF initiative (project ID GEF-11049) targeting five African countries: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. It is classified under the Chemicals and Waste focal area and runs from September 2024 to February 2030. The primary objective is to reduce the import, production, and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in plastic-containing products within the automobile, construction, and electronics sectors. It also aims to reduce unintentional POP generation (uPOPs) from plastic waste management practices such as open burning. The project promotes circular economy approaches to plastics management as a means to eliminate hazardous chemicals from plastic supply chains. Activities are implemented at the national government level through ministries of environment and national environmental regulatory agencies. Geographic scope is strictly limited to the five listed African countries. Partners include national environmental bodies: Ministry of Environment (Kenya), National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (Nigeria), Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (South Africa), National Environmental Management Agency (Uganda), and Environmental Management Agency (Zimbabwe). This is a pre-approved government implementation project, not an open grant call. The total project value is approximately USD 90.9 million, with a GEF grant component of USD 11 million and co-financing of USD 79.9 million. Target beneficiaries are governments and regulatory systems in the five focus countries.
Historical Context
GEF project ID GEF-11049, classified as Chemicals & Waste focal area. Started September 2024, approximately 30% complete as of 2026.
Why it was added
Major $90M UNEP project for circular plastics in 5 African countries, directly targets plastic waste
Sources
Similar Programs
| Program | Source | Shared Tags |
|---|---|---|
| GEF Small Grants Programme - Africa Country Programs | UN / Multilateral | 7 |
| World Bank - Clean Cities, Bright Futures (Solid Waste Management) | UN / Multilateral | 7 |
| World Bank - PROBLUE (Ocean Plastics and Circular Economy) | UN / Multilateral | 7 |
| GEF Small Grants Programme - Ghana (2026 Call for Proposals) | UN / Multilateral | 7 |
| Plastic Reboot - GEF/UNEP/WWF Global Program | UN / Multilateral | 7 |