The primary objective of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 is "cradle-to-grave" management of solid and hazardous waste, ideally through recycling and resource recovery. Section 6002 of RCRA requires federal agencies to purchase Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated products with recycled content and to report to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE) on their purchases of products that meet the recycled content standards in the EPA's Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG), described below. RCRA does not authorize EPA or any other federal agency to enforce the provisions of Section 6002 and the CPG; however, Section 403 of EO 13101 requires EPA to include an evaluation of RCRA Section 6002 compliance when conducting federal facility inspections.

Part 23 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provides policy and requirements for acquiring the EPA-designated recycled content products (Subpart 23.4). The buy-recycled requirements apply to acquisitions of commercial products (Part 12), to simplified acquisitions (Part 13), and to acquisitions with the government purchase card (Part 13). Agency supplements to the FAR provide agency-specific requirements regarding the purchase of recycled content products. Additional information can be found at Federal Acquisition Regulation: Requirements Supporting Procurement of Recycled Products and Environmentally Preferable Services. Go to http://www.arnet.gov/ to view an electronic version of the FAR.

Executive Order (EO) 13101, Greening the Government through Waste Prevention, Recycling and Federal Acquisition requires federal agencies to comply with executive branch policies for the acquisition and use of environmentally preferable products, including products manufactured with recovered content, and implement cost-effective procurement preference programs favoring the purchase of these products. The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE) has oversight of all EO requirements.

In accordance with RCRA Section 6002 and EO 13101, EPA is required to designate products that are or can be made with recovered materials and to recommend practices for buying these products. Once a product is designated, procuring agencies are required to purchase it with the highest recovered material content level practicable.

The Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG), EPA's designated products, represent a reliable list of products manufactured with recovered/recycled content. EPA also publishes Recovered Materials Advisory Notices (RMANs) to provide recycled-content recommendations and guidance on buying recycled content products.

RCRA requires EPA to consider a variety of criteria to determine which items it will designate in the CPG: availability, the potential impact on the solid waste stream, economic and technological feasibility of producing the item, and other uses of the recovered material. EPA also considers comments from end users, manufacturers and other interested parties. In its RMANs, the EPA recommends recycled-content levels, ranges and product management practices for CPG products, based on current information about commercially available recycled-content products. The RMANs are updated periodically to reflect market conditions. EPA currently provides recycled content recommendations for more than 60 products in eight categories:

• Construction Products
• Landscaping Products
• Nonpaper Office Products
• Paper and Paper Products
• Park and Recreation Products
• Transportation Products
• Vehicular Products
• Miscellaneous Products

To comply with RCRA Section 6002, 100 percent of an agency's purchases of the CPG items must be products manufactured with recovered/recycled content. Additional information is available from the CPG website at: http://www.epa.gov/cpg/products.htm.

Within one year after EPA designates an item in the CPG, RCRA Section 6002(i) requires each procuring agency purchasing more than $10,000 of that item or functionally equivalent items in a fiscal year, to buy a version of that item containing recovered materials. A "procuring agency" is defined as any Federal agency, or any state or local agency or contractor, that use appropriated federal funds. 40 CFR 247 states "Federal procuring agencies should note that the requirements of RCRA Section 6002 apply to them whether or not appropriated Federal funds are used for procurement of designated items." Therefore, green procurement requirements apply to non-appropriated fund (NAF) activities.

Agencies are not required to purchase designated items when the cost is unreasonable, inadequate competition exists, items are not available within a reasonable period of time, or items do not meet the agency's reasonable performance specifications. However, Sections 402(c) and 502(c) of EO 13101 require agencies procuring non-compliant items to provide written justification for doing so for purchases over the micropurchase threshold. For purchases under the micropurchase threshold, a valid exception must still be used but, currently, there is no requirement for documenting the justification.

To facilitate and maximize the purchase of items containing recovered materials, RCRA Section 6002 instructs procuring agencies to create "affirmative procurement programs," also known as Federal buy-recycled programs. The affirmative procurement program must ensure that designated items purchased are composed of as much recovered material as possible. According to Section 6002, programs are to consist of the following components:

• A recovered materials preference program,
• An agency promotion program,
• A program for requiring vendors to estimate, certify, and verify the recovered materials content of their products, and
• A program to monitor and annually review the effectiveness of the affirmative procurement program.

Each Federal agency must create a "preference program" to implement its preference for purchasing products containing recovered materials. RCRA Section 6002 identifies three options for preference programs:

1. "Minimum Content Standards" specify the minimum amount of recovered materials that designated items should contain. When EPA recommends ranges of recovered materials content that are currently available, procuring agencies should establish their own standards based on these ranges.
2. "Case-by-Case Policy Development" is used when a procuring agency determines that minimum content standards are inappropriate for a specific procurement action. This option allows the procuring agency to establish a separate recovered materials content requirement for the specific procurement action, while still enabling the agency to procure the designated product with the highest amount of recovered materials practicable.
3. "Substantially Equivalent Approaches," such as establishing service contracts for product remanufacturing, are used when minimum content standards are inappropriate.

Agencies also are required to establish "promotion programs" under which they must advertise their desire to buy recycled products, both within their organizations and to product vendors. Internal promotion typically involves an employee education program that asserts an agency's procurement policy through advertising, workshops, agency newsletters, and manuals. External promotion efforts usually include publishing articles in trade journals, participating in vendor shows or trade fairs, and placing statements in bid solicitations.

Department of Defense Green Procurement Policy and Strategy

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics issued the DOD Green Procurement Strategy in August, 2004. The policy affirms a goal of 100 percent compliance with federal laws and executive orders requiring purchase of environmentally friendly, or "green," products and services. The policy also outlines a strategy for meeting those requirements, along with metrics for measuring progress.

The Green Procurement Program objectives include:

• Educate all appropriate DOD employees on the requirements of Federal "green" procurement preference programs, their roles and responsibilities relevant to these programs and the DOD Green Procurement Program, and the opportunities to purchase green products and services.
• Increase purchases of green products and services consistent with the demands of mission, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness, with continual improvement toward Federally established procurement goals;
• Reduce the amount of solid waste generated.
• Reduce consumption of energy and natural resources.
• Expand markets for green products and services.

Key to the Green Procurement Strategy's ultimate success is a close partnership between the environmental and procurement communities across DOD. Deidre Lee, director of defense procurement and acquisition policy said, "The green procurement program is designed to enhance and sustain mission readiness through cost effective acquisition that not only meets regulatory requirements, but also reduces resource consumption and waste generation." Details concerning the DOD Green Procurement Policy and Strategy are available at: https://www.denix.osd.mil/denix/Public/ES-Programs/Pollution/Procurement/GPP/gpp-intro.html (DENIX Public).

The compliance benefits listed here are only meant to be used as general guidelines and are not meant to be strictly interpreted. Actual compliance benefits will vary depending on the factors involved, e.g., the amount of workload involved.

• Ensures compliance with Federal regulations and Executive Orders,
• Promotes recycling and subsequent use of recovered materials,
• Conserves natural resources,
• Reduces waste disposal amounts and costs,
• Conserves landfill space,
• Assists in development of markets for recycled products,
• May offer product life-cycle costs that are lower than products made from virgin materials; for instance, recycling processes are often less energy intensive than creating finished products from raw materials.
• Promotes mission sustainability.

• May require additional effort and research to identify conforming products,
• Additional paperwork required for non-conforming purchases or contracts above the micropurchase levels,
• Requires additional training for staff in multiple organizations.

One of the examples listed on the OFEE website at http://www.ofee.gov/gp/policydev.html describes the affirmative procurement program at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and the successful aspects of its procurement of recycled content products.

"When Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, implemented its affirmative procurement program (APP) in November 2001, it set out to meet the Department of Defense and Air Forces' goal of 100 percent procurement of recycled content products and also to increase the purchase of biobased, less toxic, and energy- and water-efficient products. The Base created an Affirmative Procurement Working Group with members drawn from environmental management, public affairs, logistics, contracting the medical center, civil engineering, legal, exchange store, support group/services squadrons, and base tenants. The APWG created the base's affirmative procurement plan, increased awareness among all organizations about buying recycled content products, and researched the local availability of recycled content products.

The base identified local suppliers that sold the EPA-designated recycled content products and began replacing virgin engine oil and paper with re-refined motor oil and 30 percent postconsumer recycled content paper and using retread tires. The base medical center changed its online ordering system so that only recycled content paper can be purchased. The base retail supply center inventoried its products and now identifies 185 recycled content products with shelf talkers. One of the squadrons purchased 5 � tons of tire rubber mulch for its obstacle course. In addition, base organizations began using biobased products, including biodiesel.

In FY 2002, Wright-Patterson purchased more than 109,000 reams of recycled content paper, 3,025 gallons of re-refined oil, and 48 retread tires. Concrete containing coal fly ash was used to construct an airfield ramp, saving approximately $300,000. And the civil engineering base facility standard now requires all contractors to comply with affirmative procurement requirements. Architect/engineering designs must incorporate recycled content products into construction projects."

Note: The above case study was obtained from OFEE Green Procurement website at http://www.ofee.gov/gp/policydev.html.

• Department of Defense Green Procurement Strategy: Promoting Environmental Stewardship Throughout the Department of Defense (DENIX Public)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) � Products
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) - Search Supplier Database
• General Service Administration (GSA) CPG and Other Recycled Products
• General Services Administration (GSA) Recycled Products Library (Regulations, Product Guides, Articles, and Presentations)
• Northeast Recycling Council, Inc. (NERC)
• Recycled-Content Product Directory, California Integrated Waste Management Board

Other Important Websites:

• Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence (AFCEE) Green Purchasing Program Website
• Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Green Procurement Program (GPP) Website
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) Website
• Government Purchasing Project (GPP) Website
• Green Procurement Topic Hub - Table of Contents, Pollution Prevention Regional Information Center
• Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE) Green Purchasing Website

• Affirmative Procurement: The Federal Government�s Buy Recycled Requirements -- No Date Given, U.S. Army, Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, Solid Waste Management Services
• Comprehensive Procurement Guideline (CPG) Program Product Fact Sheets, EPA
• Executive Order and FAR Requirements -- Last Updated August 2002, Section II: Current EPP Mandates, EPP General Training Tool, EPA
• Have Government Purchasing Decisions Ever Really Made a Difference? -- Last Updated August 2002, Section I: General Overview, EPA