Plastic Waste Reduction Standard Grant

About this grant

The Plastic Waste Reduction Standard (Plastic Program) enables robust impact assessment and crediting of new or scaled-up waste collection and recycling projects. With 430 million tons of plastic produced annually and two-thirds becoming waste that is often dumped or burned, the program addresses the critical need to scale collection and recycling infrastructure and reduce virgin plastic use. The program provides a credible, transparent, and consistent framework for accounting and crediting plastic collection and recycling activities, issuing credits based on the volume of plastic collected and/or recycled above baseline rates. It covers diverse activities including waste collection from the environment, development of new municipal infrastructure, collection and sorting of recyclable plastic waste, and development or scaling of recycling technologies. The program includes stringent requirements with social and environmental safeguards, independent third-party auditing, technically sound methodologies, and a central registry system to track all registered projects and credit generation, retirement, and cancellation.

Eligibility

Projects can be developed anywhere in the world and may include any of the seven types of plastic plus composite materials that include plastic. The scope is currently limited to plastic waste collection and recycling activities; reuse or reduction activities are not eligible. Projects must show they measurably increase collection and/or recycling of waste plastic above baseline rates. Creditable activities include community waste collection from the environment, collection and sorting of recyclable plastic waste, new or expanded waste collection infrastructure development, and new or expanded recycling infrastructure development. Most credited collection activities will be located in economies dependent on informal waste management, where projects must ensure that local waste picker communities are involved in an inclusive and beneficial way with social and environmental safeguards including safe working conditions and improved livelihoods.

How it's scored

Projects undergo a rigorous assessment process including a 30-day public comment period, validation by a validation/verification body (VVB) that reviews all comments and project details, and Verra review and approval. All projects are subject to desk and field audits by qualified independent third-party auditors and Verra staff to ensure standards and methodologies are properly applied. Projects must meet all standards and methodological requirements specific to their project type before registration. Before credit issuance, project activities must be implemented and monitored, plastic collection/recycling quantified, verified by a VVB, and approved by Verra.

Key requirements

• ✓Plastic waste collection and/or recycling activity that can be measured and verified against Verra's standard
• ✓Credible baseline and monitoring methodology for tracking plastic waste reduction
• ✓Ability to demonstrate additionality and avoid double-counting

Recent past awardees

Knowing who's won the last rounds tells you whether you're in the strike zone.

• Second Life Thailand
• Deekali Plastic Recovery West Africa

Frequently asked questions

Who can apply for Plastic Waste Reduction Standard?

Eligibility covers organisations in GLOBAL; nonprofit, social-enterprise, startup, sme, large-company, consortium. See the eligibility criteria above for the full conditions.

Relevant sectors

About this sector

Circular economy funding supports reuse, repair, remanufacturing, product redesign and secondary materials markets. Grants tend to back pilots with businesses and local authorities, while tenders buy collection, sorting and recovery services. Applicants are usually asked to show the material flows involved and who will buy the recovered output.