The project will work in close collaboration with AIVdP, the Government relevant agencies (Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of sanitation, the National Agency for Waste Management (“ANAGED”) which is the regulatory authority, the Office National de l’ Assainissement et du Drainage (ONAD); the Institute of Circular Economy of Abidjan (“IECA”), the Business Association (“CGECI”), the Antipollution Center of Côte d’Ivoire (“CIAPOL”), Côte d’Ivoire standards Department (“CODINORM”); the Cities and Municipalities Union of Côte d’Ivoire (“UVICOCI”); and the Waste to value Units/UVD), and the waste pickers’ associations to: (i) provide technical advice to help close the regulatory gap including the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act, the Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO)’s regulation, the regulatory framework for recycled PET (rPET) standards, and the incentives policy for both supply and demand of (rPET); (ii) implement the EPR scheme and the PRO to address issues of plastic waste collection and sourcing; and (iii) conduct capacity building, awareness, and citizen engagement campaign. Specifically, this project will support four core activities: 1. Advisory services to relevant government agencies a. Support the creation of a committee in charge of PET recycling to establish a regular and impactful dialogue between the public sector and the private sector to identify and address issues/roadblocks. b. Provide technical advice to the Government to improve the policy and regulatory framework for the plastic waste recycling. The project will: i. Assist with advice/recommendations on international best practices for the drafting of the regulatory instruments aimed at improving the policy and regulatory framework for the plastic waste recycling. ii. Develop national food-grade standards for rPET and introduce eco-design approaches at industry level to guarantee the recyclability, reusability, and the circularity of new plastics products. c. Assist the Ministry of industry and the Ministry of finance by giving advice/recommendations to draft a policy aiming at introducing incentives to de-risk and mobilize the private sector capital in the plastic recycling value chain (new technologies, businesses models, plastic waste collection, eco-design of plastics products, and use of products with rPET content). 2. Capacity building activities, sensitization, and awareness a. Undertake capacity building for the relevant Government agencies and all stakeholders in the value chain. b. Conduct sensitization and communication campaigns on challenges (pollution) of plastic and opportunities that its waste can generate to encourage manufacturers, importers, households, decision-makers, municipalities, plastic waste value chain actors, schools, universities to adopt circularity approaches. c. Work to enhance the PROs to succeed in their institutional role and the EPR implementation. 3. Enhancing the plastic waste collection system and promoting the recycling industry a. Develop business models for key parts of the recycling value chain. b. Assist the Government, municipalities, manufacturers, collectors, and recyclers to set up collection and sorting systems at source for recyclable waste. 4. Regional Value chain analysis and scaling-up a. Undertake a mapping of the plastic recycling value chain (including stakeholder and regional pricing) in regions other than Abidjan to identify additional potential sources of plastic waste that can serve the recycling industry. b. Identify the appropriate solutions for the reintroduction of the non-recyclable waste into the economy, specifically in the construction sector.