Terms of Reference: Service for Development of Circular Relief Supply Chain for Bhotekoshi Flood Response

Terms of Reference

Service for Development of Circular Relief Supply Chain for Bhotekoshi Flood Response

Introduction

People in Need (PIN) is a non-governmental, non-profit, international organization founded in the Czech Republic in 1992. PIN arrived in Nepal as part of a humanitarian response to the April 25, 2015 earthquake. Since its inception in Nepal, PIN has had a strong role in designing and facilitating systemic solutions advocating for and addressing the needs of vulnerable populations affected by disasters including person categories who live in geographically remote areas of the country, historically marginalized ethnic groups, and those marginalized because of their age and/or gender identity. Currently, PIN Nepal is implementing programmes under three strategic pillars

• Emergency response and recovery 
• Climate resilience, and
• Civil society and inclusive governance 

PIN Nepal team works in and promotes strong partnerships with civil society, Government of Nepal, academia, private sector and other key stakeholders in Nepal. Together with them, PIN Nepal has been advancing programmes such as landslide disaster preparedness and early action, climate and flood resilient housing, durable local solutions, climate change modelling for more inclusive and efficient local decision-making, girls and inclusive education, waste management and circular economy approaches. PIN is strongly committed for safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults, including persons with disabilities, in line with its safeguarding framework and child protection policy. Under the Climate Resilience Pillar, PIN is implementing Pratibaddha and RAIN projects across several districts in Sudurpaschim, Karnali, Lumbini, Madhesh, and Bagmati provinces, supporting early warning systems, early action, community preparedness, and climate-resilient local decision-making.

Background

Following the recent flood emergency in Nepal, large volumes of relief materials have been mobilized through collection centres, holding centres, and distribution points. While these operations are essential for saving lives and meeting urgent needs, they also generate substantial quantities of recyclable materials such as PET bottles, cartons, and other clean packaging waste. 

To support environmentally responsible humanitarian action, PIN intends to engage a specialized service provider to design, implement, and test a circular relief supply chain model that promotes waste recovery, recycling, and traceability within humanitarian response operations. The intervention will be implemented over a 90-day pilot period in Kathmandu and selected flood-affected districts.

Purpose of the Assignment 

The purpose of this assignment is to establish and operationalize a multi-site material recovery and recycling system that captures, segregates, collects, consolidates, and channels recyclable materials generated through humanitarian relief operations to verified recycling facilities, while ensuring no disruption to relief activities.

Objective of the Assignment 

The service provider shall: 

• Develop and implement a functioning material recovery system across selected relief and holding centres. 
• Promote source segregation and responsible waste management practices among humanitarian actors and affected communities. 
• Establish a traceable collection and recycling mechanism for identified recyclable materials. 
• Build capacity of humanitarian workers, community focal persons, and local stakeholders on segregation, recovery, and traceability. 
• Generate evidence and learning to inform future scale-up of circular humanitarian programming.

Scope of Work 

The service provider shall undertake the following activities: 

A. Inception and Site Assessment 

• Conduct rapid assessment and mapping of target locations. 
• Confirm operational sites within Kathmandu and selected district locations. 
• Assess material flow, accessibility, storage requirements, and logistics routes. 
• Identify and verify recycling partners and end-market actors. 
• Prepare an inception plan detailing implementation modalities and timelines.  

B. Establishment of Waste Recovery System 

• Establish segregation and collection mechanisms at selected sites. 
• Install basic segregation infrastructure, signage, and collection materials. 
• Provide weighing scales, PPE, collection bags, and other necessary operational equipment. 
• Establish district-level consolidation arrangements where required. 

C. Training and Capacity Building Design and deliver training sessions covering: 

• Material identification and segregation. 
• Storage and collection procedures. 
• Health and safety standards. 
• PPE usage and contamination management. 
• Weighing and record keeping. 
• Material traceability and documentation. 
• Train-the-trainer modules for focal persons. 

D. Collection, Consolidation and Recycling Operations 

• Organize routine collection and transportation of recyclable materials. 
• Operate collection from agreed relief collection centres, holding centres, and district sites.
• Conduct weighing, sorting, consolidation, and dispatch of materials. 
• Ensure safe handling and storage throughout the process.
• Transport materials to verified recycling facilities. 
• Priority materials shall include: PET bottles, Cartons and Clean relief packaging materials. Additional recyclable streams may be included where viable markets exist.

E. Data Management and Traceability 

The service provider shall establish a material tracking system that records collection location, material type, weight collected, date of collection, transportation records and final destination/recycler.

F. Documentation and Knowledge Products 

The service provider shall document implementation experiences and lessons learned. Documentation shall include: Case studies, success stories, photographs, video content, operational learning notes, recommendations for scale-up.

G. Pilot Evaluation and Scale-Up Recommendation 

The service provider shall assess operational feasibility, route efficiency, material recovery performance, training effectiveness, cost effectiveness and replication potential. 

Geographic Coverage 

The assignment will initially cover: 

• Kathmandu Valley (Few holding center Samakhusi Relief Collection and Coordination Centre, Yellow Gumba and Mustang Gumba Holding Centre) – Subject to confirmation as per need and permission from holding center management  
• District Locations: Dhunche, Uttargaya, Bidur, or other suitable locations identified during inception assessment. 
• The final site selection to be finalized during the first week of implementation.

Implementation Period and 90 days output 

The assignment shall be implemented over a period of 90 calendar days.

Reporting Timeline

Budget and Financial Management

The total pilot budget shall be NPR 35,20,000 allocated across assessment, infrastructure, equipment, training, logistics, implementation, evaluation, and documentation activities. Budget utilization shall be guided by principles of efficiency, transparency, value for money, and accountability.

Required Documents

• Cover letter and company team/profile
• Technical Proposal
• Financial Proposal
• Detailed Implementation plan with timeline
• Proof of Prior Experience of working in similar field
• CVs of proposed Team

Interested individuals/firms are requested to send their application by 20th September 2026 to nepal.securebids@peopleinneed.net with the subject line: Consultancy service for Circular Relief Pilot