UNICEF StartUp Lab Reducing Single-Use Plastics through WASH & Social and Behaviour Change Innovation Challenge 2026: Win $5,000, Pilot Your Innovation in Ghana, and Help Protect Children’s Health

Applications are now open for the UNICEF StartUp Lab Reducing Single-Use Plastics through Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Social & Behaviour Change (SBC) Innovation Challenge 2026.

This innovation challenge is inviting startups, innovators, entrepreneurs, social enterprises, and changemakers to develop practical, scalable, and sustainable solutions that reduce the use of single-use plastics within Ghana’s WASH sector while promoting healthier communities and protecting children from the harmful effects of plastic pollution.

Selected innovators will receive funding, mentorship, technical support, and the opportunity to pilot their solutions within UNICEF WASH and community programmes.

Application Deadline: July 23, 2026

About the UNICEF StartUp Lab WASH Innovation Challenge

Plastic pollution has become one of the biggest environmental and public health challenges affecting Ghana today. Single-use plastics are widely used across the country, particularly within water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

Products such as:

• Plastic water sachets
• Plastic packaging
• Disposable hygiene products
• Other single-use plastic materials

continue to accumulate in communities due to inadequate collection and disposal systems.

Improper disposal of these plastics blocks drainage systems, pollutes rivers and streams, contaminates soil, and contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.

The challenge goes beyond environmental concerns. Poor waste management creates stagnant water that becomes breeding grounds for mosquitoes, increasing the spread of malaria and other water-borne diseases. Burning plastic waste also contributes to poor air quality, increasing respiratory illnesses among vulnerable populations, particularly children.

As plastics gradually degrade into microplastics, they contaminate water sources and food systems, posing long-term risks to public health and food security.

Recognizing these growing challenges, UNICEF StartUp Lab is seeking innovative solutions that promote a circular economy while transforming how communities use, collect, reuse, replace, reduce, and recycle plastics.

Why This Challenge Matters

Current plastic waste management systems are not sufficient to address the growing environmental crisis.

The UNICEF StartUp Lab seeks to encourage innovative approaches that move communities away from the traditional “use-and-dispose” model toward sustainable circular systems.

The challenge combines innovation with Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) approaches to encourage lasting behavioural shifts that reduce dependence on disposable plastics.

Ultimately, the initiative aims to improve sanitation systems, protect the environment, strengthen climate resilience, and improve health outcomes for children.

Objectives of the Challenge

The challenge seeks innovative solutions that can:

• Reduce dependence on single-use plastics.
• Promote responsible plastic collection and disposal.
• Encourage reuse, reduction, replacement, and recycling using the 3Rs.
• Improve sanitation and hygiene services.
• Strengthen community participation in sustainable waste management.
• Protect children from diseases associated with plastic pollution.
• Support climate-resilient WASH systems.
• Develop scalable and affordable innovations that can be implemented across Ghana.

Challenge Themes

Applicants may address one or more of the following innovation areas.

1. Alternative Solutions

Develop affordable, accessible, and scalable alternatives to single-use plastics used within water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

Solutions should promote:

• Reduction
• Replacement
• Reuse
• Recycling

while remaining practical for local communities.

2. Behavioural Integration

Design Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) strategies that encourage households, institutions, and communities to reduce their reliance on disposable plastics.

Innovations may include:

• Behaviour change campaigns
• Digital engagement platforms
• Community education programmes
• Incentive systems
• School-based interventions

3. Circular Systems

Develop closed-loop systems that improve the collection, reuse, reduction, replacement, recycling, or responsible disposal of plastics throughout the WASH value chain.

Potential innovations may include:

• Plastic collection systems
• Community recycling programmes
• Deposit-return schemes
• Incentive-based recycling models
• Waste recovery technologies
• Circular business models

4. Climate Resilience

Create innovative WASH infrastructure and services capable of reducing the environmental impacts of plastic pollution while protecting communities from climate-related risks.

Solutions should improve both environmental sustainability and child health.

What UNICEF Is Looking For

UNICEF is seeking practical innovations capable of significantly reducing or eliminating single-use plastics from household and community environments.

Successful applicants should demonstrate their ability to:

Develop Sustainable Alternatives

Innovations should introduce practical alternatives to disposable plastics that are affordable, locally available, and environmentally sustainable.

Drive Behavioural Change

Applicants should demonstrate how Social and Behaviour Change methodologies will encourage communities and service providers to adopt sustainable practices.

Improve Community Health

Solutions should reduce children’s exposure to pollution caused by plastic waste while supporting healthier sanitation systems.

Deliver Scalable Models

Innovations should be:

• Affordable
• Scalable
• Adaptable
• Easy to integrate into existing government or community WASH programmes

Benefits for Selected Innovators

Successful applicants will receive:

• US$5,000 cash prize
• Opportunity to pilot their innovation within UNICEF WASH and community programmes
• Mentorship from experts
• Data support to strengthen and validate their innovation
• Opportunity to build scalable and cost-effective solutions
• Alignment with Ghana’s National Plastic Management Policy
• Access to public-sector WASH implementation opportunities

Strategic Importance

This challenge supports several national and global development priorities, including:

• Ghana’s National Plastic Management Policy
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 – Climate Action

The programme also strengthens collaboration between startups, innovators, government institutions, and development partners to create sustainable environmental solutions that directly improve children’s wellbeing.

Expected Outcomes

Selected innovations will be piloted within existing UNICEF WASH programmes and community initiatives.

The pilot projects will generate evidence demonstrating how innovative approaches can:

• Reduce plastic waste.
• Improve waste collection systems.
• Encourage behavioural change.
• Strengthen sanitation infrastructure.
• Improve environmental sustainability.
• Protect children’s health.
• Create scalable models for wider implementation across Ghana.

The long-term vision is to build a portfolio of proven innovations capable of transforming plastic waste management while creating healthier communities and more resilient WASH systems.

Why You Should Apply

If your startup or innovation focuses on sustainability, waste management, climate action, circular economy, sanitation, recycling, behaviour change, environmental technology, or WASH, this challenge offers an excellent opportunity to test your innovation in a real-world environment.

Beyond the financial award, successful innovators will gain valuable pilot experience, expert mentorship, technical support, and the opportunity to contribute to national environmental priorities while improving the lives of children across Ghana.

Application Deadline

July 23, 2026

How to Apply

Interested applicants can apply for the UNICEF StartUp Lab HERE.

Click HERE for more information on the UNICEF StartUp Lab.

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