Bangladesh: Consultancy - Call for proposals: Feasibility Study and Project Proposal Development- Solid Waste Management Scheme, Cox Bazar, Bangladesh

Background

More than 900,000 people displaced from Rakhine including 670,000 new arrivals are estimated to be living in the Bangladesh districts of Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban. Most of these people, 623,000, live in the greater Kutapalong Camp Extension situated near and within the Teknaf Wildlife Reserve.

Significant work has been done by the WaSH sector, however, there has been little focus placed on solid waste management within the camps. Despite this there has been a notable lack of build up of waste around the camp and it is thought that this is due to the cooking fuel shortage resulting in the use of plastic and other waste as cooking fuel. A planned camp wide distribution of Liquid Petroleum Gas as cooking fuel is likely to lead to a rapid increase in the solid waste seen within the camps.

Bangladesh and the Cox’s Bazar district has limited infrastructure for solid waste management. This is particularly the case within the rural communities near to the Kutapalong Camp. There are currently no landfill sites available for the camp or host communities and Bangladesh has banned the use of waste incinerators. There are a number of solid waste management projects either proposed or planned by the government of Bangladesh and other agencies including landfill construction and waste collection.

There is an informal recycling sector in Cox’s Bazar district largely focused on collection of PET bottles, as well as aluminium and tin cans and any other recyclable material that has value. The majority of this is collected by private businesses and shipped to Dhaka or Chittagong for further processing. The collection of recyclable materials has led to a build-up of low value waste that is not managed. The small recycling businesses close to the camp have been strongly affected by the increased transport costs and the movement restrictions put in place by the Bangladesh government making it difficult for them to transport their collected materials for sale.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society established the Population Movement Operation (PMO) in response to the influx of people from Myanmar’s Rakhine State into the Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh. The PMO aims to provide humanitarian assistance to 200,000 people focused largely in the Kutapalong Extension Camp in Ukhia Upzala. This includes assistance in Health, Shelter, and WaSH as well as other supporting sectors. The Swedish Red Cross supports the IFRC PMO operation as well as having long term ongoing work in Bangladesh.

Proposed Waste Project Outline

The proposed project aims to provide a comprehensive solid waste solution for both the greater Kutapalong camp and nearby host communities driven by the collection, processing and re-manufacture of plastic into useful and saleable items for both the camp and host communities. The project would involve:

• Waste collection and sorting within Greater Kutapalong Extension Camp possibly making use of sites used for faecal sludge processing
• Waste would be sorted into organics, usable plastic, and other recyclable materials with the remainder needing to go to landfill
• Suitable organic material would be processed into compost for kitchen or community gardens and possibly combined with the processed product from faecal sludge treatment plants
• Plastics and other recyclable materials would be transported to a processing centre probably outside or on the edge of camp
• Non-recyclable material would be transported to landfill
• Plastic waste would be processed either to be shipped to out of Cox’s Bazar or preferably manufactured into items useful to the camp population such as posts, pavers or other items
• A parallel collection and sorting scheme would occur within the host community to increase the benefits of the scheme to the host community and ensure a sustainable supply of waste
• The processing facility could also take product from other collection and sorting schemes run by other agencies working with the camp or host communities.
• Plastic material could also be purchased from existing local recycling businesses

The scheme will provide numerous employment and livelihood opportunities for both camp and host communities including supporting existing host community businesses that have been negatively impacted by the population influx. Livelihoods opportunities exist in:

· Waste collection

· Waste sorting

· Compost production

· Kitchen or community gardens

· Transport of sorted waste

· Plastic processing

· Sale of manufactured items

The scale of the project will be determined by the volume of suitable waste available and linkages with other planned and ongoing solid waste management projects.

Objectives of the consultancy

The objectives of the consultancy is to conduct a feasibility study and develop a detailed project proposal of the proposed concept outlined above. The feasibility study is to assess the practicality and viability of the solid waste management project for the camp and host communities of the greater Kutapalong camp extension. If the concept of the project is deemed viable then the information collected can be used to develop a detailed project proposal and business plan including assessments of the livelihoods opportunities for the camp and host communities and impacts on existing recycling and waste management businesses.

The study should include:

· A waste inventory of the camp and host community to determine the likely volumes and characteristics of the different waste types

· An assessment current waste infrastructure and solid waste management systems in both the camp and host communities including projects planned by government and other agencies, including the likelihood of theconstruction of a suitable landfill and the likely impacts of the proposed project on local and national recycling systems and businesses

· An assessment of the acceptability of the scheme to local, regional and national government including a review of the regulatory environment including government regulations and strategic plans concerning solid waste management.

· An assessment of key actors within the humanitarian, NGO, non-profit and private sector and determine their potential impact on the proposed project including possible beneficial linkages and partnerships

· Investigation into the availability of land for processing and factory sites

· An assessment of the sustainability of the proposed project i.e. ongoing waste supply, the potential market for finished products and the availability of other revenue streams

· A description of the potential employment and livelihood opportunities of the project and its possible broader macro-economic impact

· An assessment of the plant and machinery required and a review its cost and availability including shipping and set up costs

· An assessment of the environmental impact of the project including environmental gains and loses compared to the current situation.

Deliverables

The consultancy will deliver two reports. The second is dependent on the results of the first.

· A Feasibility Study Report including:

• The methodology of the feasibility study and the resources used

• Details of the participants and stakeholders interviewed in the study

• A waste of inventory of camp and host communities

• An assessment of the impacts and linkages to ongoing and planned solid waste management plans from government, UN and other agencies

• A review of the regulatory environment as it will affect the proposed project

• An assessment of the environmental impacts of the proposed porject

• The results and recommendations of the study

· A Full Project Proposal (if the concept is deemed feasible) including:

• A detailed description of the project requirements including staffing and capacity requirements

• Descriptions of required machinery and equipment including technical specifications where suitable

• An inception and start-up plan including legislative requirements and possible timeline

• A business case including: an analysis of the start-up and ongoing costs of the proposed project and potential revenue streams

• A livelihoods analysis with an assessment of the livelihoods opportunities for both camp and host communities and an assessment of impacts on current recycling and waste management businesses

Logistics Consideration

It is considered likely that the feasibility study will be conducted by a team of 2 or more consultants. The consultants will be contracted to the Swedish Red Cross and will work in coordination with the IFRC Population Movement Operation in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Other logistics considerations include:

· International travel to be arranged by the consultant(s)

· Obtaining the appropriate visa for travel and work in Bangladesh is essential and the responsibility of the consultant(s)

· Internal (domestic) travel and accommodation will be arranged by the consultant in consultation with the IFRC PMO

· Travel within Cox’s Bazar and to and from the study sites will be supported by the IFRC PMO

· Consultants will be covered by IFRC security regulations and will follow IFRC security procedures and guidance while traveling and staying in Bangladesh

· Consultants will agree to sign and abide by IFRC guiding principles and rules for deployment.

Time frame

Mid-September-October 2018

Applications should include expected timeframes for the work. It should be noted that the study will occur during the monsoon season in Cox’s Bazar which may cause travel delays. As such allowance should be made in planning for the potential disruption that the monsoons may cause. An indicative timeframe is given below.

· Preparation and planning 1 week (home based)

· Field deployment and site visits 2-4 weeks (Bangladesh)

· Analysis and production of draft report 1 week (home based)

· Response and comment from Swedish Red Cross will take a maximum of 2 weeks

· Integration of comments and final report production 1 week (home based)

Required profile

The consultant or consultants will have:

· Strong technical understanding of solid waste management

· Strong technical understanding of plastic recycling and manufacture

· Experience working in supporting and developing livelihoods opportunities

· Experience in developing high quality project proposals and business plans

· Experience working in developing countries and or in displaced persons camp situations

· Experience working in Bangladesh is an asset

· Language

• English written and spoken

• Spoken Bangladesh is an asset

Proposals should be submitted by August 26^th 2018 to:

Caroline Gårdestedt (caroline.gardestedt@redcross.se) and

Rita Petralba (rita.petralba@redcross.se)

Proposals should include:

· Curricula Vitae (CV) for all members of the team included in the proposal

· Cover letter clearly summarizing your experience as it pertains to this assignment, your daily rate, and three professional references.

· A brief description of your firm or institution (for applicants other than individual contractors).

· Technical proposal not exceeding 15 pages (except financial proposal, timeline and annexes) expressing an understanding and interpretation of the TOR, the proposed methodology, and a time and activity schedule.

· Financial proposal itemizing estimated costs for services rendered (daily consultancy fees), accommodation and living costs, transport costs and any other related supplies or services required for the assignment.

· Has your company successfully performed similar feasibility studies in scope, time and content? Please provide at least one example most similar to this TOR. If not, please explain why you consider your company would be able to successfully implement this feasibility study.

Proposals and annexes are non-returnable, and we thank you in advance for understanding that only short-listed candidates will be contacted for the next step in the application process.