IDB Lab launches call to manage chemicals, hazardous waste in Caribbean

IDB Lab, the innovation laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank, convened the BlueTech for Waste Challenge, an initiative to find innovative solutions that contribute to the sustainable management of chemicals and hazardous waste in 12 countries in the Caribbean. This call is made in collaboration with the Global Environment Facility (GEF), through its Global ISLANDS programme, in order to protect human health and the environment and address the climate vulnerabilities of the region.
The call, a release from the IDB said, is aimed at start-ups with ready to implement models, small and medium-sized companies, NGOs, corporations, and other organisations in the private sector that offer innovative solutions to face the challenge posed by waste from lubricants, tires, electrical items and electronics, used and end-of-life vehicles, as well as industrial, organic and municipal, medical, pesticide, and plastic waste that may contain hazardous substances. Such solutions must be scalable, sustainable, and promote the economic and social inclusion of poor and vulnerable populations.
Initiatives from any of the 12 countries in which the projects will be implemented can apply to this call: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Organisations from any of the other 48 member countries of the IDB may also participate if they do so jointly with an organisation registered and located in one of the twelve countries indicated.
The selected proposals will be able to receive financing to implement their projects, which will be provided by the IDB/IDB Lab and the GEF (with the exception of Haiti and Jamaica, which will receive support from the IDB/IDB Lab). In addition, the selected organisations will be included in the IDB Lab network of global innovators for the exchange of knowledge, experiences, best practices, and the creation of contacts in events organised by the IDB Group and its partners. The call for proposals closes on May 31, 2022 (12 am EDT) and the announcement of selected proposals will be made between July and August.