42 U.S.C. 6912(a) and 6962; EO 13423, 72 FR 3919, 3 CFR, 1998 Comp., p. 210.
(a) The purpose of this guideline is to assist procuring agencies in complying with the requirements of section 6002 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA), as amended, 42 U.S.C. 6962, and Executive Order 12873, as they apply to the procurement of the items designated in subpart B of this part.
(b) This guideline designates items that are or can be made with recovered materials and whose procurement by procuring agencies will carry out the objectives of section 6002 of RCRA. EPA's recommended practices with respect to the procurement of specific designated items are found in the companion Recovered Materials Advisory Notice(s).
(c) EPA believes that adherence to the recommendations in the Recovered Materials Advisory Notice(s) constitutes compliance with RCRA section 6002. However, procuring agencies may adopt other types of procurement programs consistent with RCRA section 6002.
(a)(1) This guideline applies to all procuring agencies and to all procurement actions involving items designated by EPA in this part, where the procuring agency purchases $10,000 or more worth of one of these items during the course of a fiscal year, or where the cost of such items or of functionally equivalent items purchased during the preceding fiscal year was $10,000 or more.
(2) This guideline applies to Federal agencies, to State and local agencies using appropriated Federal funds to procure designated items, and to persons contracting with any such agencies with respect to work performed under such contracts. 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.
(3) The $10,000 threshold applies to procuring agencies as a whole rather than to agency subgroups such as regional offices or subagencies of a larger department or agency.
(b) The term
(1) Purchases made directly by a procuring agency and purchases made directly by any person (e.g., a contractor) in support of work being performed for a procuring agency, and
(2) Any purchases of designated items made “indirectly” by a procuring agency, as in the case of procurements resulting from grants, loans, funds, and similar forms of disbursements of monies.
(c)(1) This guideline does not apply to purchases of designated items which are unrelated to or incidental to Federal funding, i.e., not the direct result of a contract or agreement with, or a
(2) This guideline also does not apply to purchases made by private party recipients (e.g., individuals, non-profit organizations) of Federal funds pursuant to grants, loans, cooperative agreements, and other funds disbursements.
(d) RCRA section 6002(c)(1) requires procuring agencies to procure designated items composed of the highest percentage of recovered materials practicable, consistent with maintaining a satisfactory level of competition, considering such guidelines. Procuring agencies may decide not to procure such items if they are not reasonably available in a reasonable period of time; fail to meet reasonable performance standards; or are only available at an unreasonable price.
As used in this procurement guideline and the related Recovered Materials Advisory Notice(s):
(1) Paper, paperboard and fibrous wastes from retail stores, office buildings, homes and so forth, after they have passed through their end-usage as a consumer item including: Used corrugated boxes; old newspapers; old magazines; mixed waste paper; tabulating cards and used cordage; and
(2) All paper, paperboard and fibrous wastes that enter and are collected from municipal solid waste;
(1) Postconsumer materials such as—
(i) Paper, paperboard, and fibrous wastes from retail stores, office buildings, homes, and so forth, after they have passed through their end-usage as a consumer item, including: Used corrugated boxes; old newspapers; old magazines; mixed waste paper; tabulating cards; and used cordage; and
(ii) All paper, paperboard, and fibrous wastes that enter and are collected from municipal solid waste, and
(2) Manufacturing, forest residues, and other wastes such as—
(i) Dry paper and paperboard waste generated after completion of the papermaking process (that is, those manufacturing operations up to and including the cutting and trimming of the paper machine reel in smaller rolls of rough sheets) including: Envelope cuttings, bindery trimmings, and other paper and paperboard waste, resulting from printing, cutting, forming, and other converting operations; bag, box, and carton manufacturing wastes; and butt rolls, mill wrappers, and rejected unused stock; and
(ii) Finished paper and paperboard from obsolete inventories of paper and paperboard manufacturers, merchants, wholesalers, dealers, printers, converters, or others;
(iii) Fibrous byproducts of harvesting, manufacturing, extractive, or wood-cutting processes, flax, straw, linters, bagasse, slash, and other forest residues;
(iv) Wastes generated by the conversion of goods made from fibrous material (that is, waste rope from cordage manufacture, textile mill waste, and cuttings); and
(v) Fibers recovered from waste water which otherwise would enter the waste stream.
Within one year after the effective date of each item designation, contracting officers shall require that vendors:
(a) Certify that the percentage of recovered materials to be used in the performance of the contract will be at least the amount required by applicable specifications or other contractual requirements, and
(b) Estimate the percentage of total material utilized for the performance of the contract which is recovered materials.
(a) RCRA section 6002(d)(1) required Federal agencies that have the responsibility for drafting or reviewing specifications for procurement items procured by Federal agencies to revise their specifications by May 8, 1986, to eliminate any exclusion of recovered materials and any requirement that items be manufactured from virgin materials.
(b) RCRA section 6002(d)(2) requires that within one year after the publication date of each item designation by the EPA, each procuring agency must assure that its specifications for these items require the use of recovered materials to the maximum extent possible without jeopardizing the intended end use of these items.
RCRA section 6002(i) provides that each procuring agency which purchases items designated by EPA must establish an affirmative procurement program, containing the four elements listed below, for procuring such items containing recovered materials to the maximum extent practicable:
(a) Preference program for purchasing the designated items;
(b) Promotion program;
(c) Procedures for obtaining estimates and certifications of recovered materials content and for verifying the estimates and certifications; and
(d) Annual review and monitoring of the effectiveness of the program.
Within one year after the date of publication of any item designation, procuring agencies which purchase that designated item must comply with the following requirements of RCRA:
Paper and paper products, excluding building and construction paper grades.
(a) Lubricating oils containing re-refined oil, including engine lubricating oils, hydraulic fluids, and gear oils, excluding marine and aviation oils.
(b) Tires, excluding airplane tires.
(c) Reclaimed engine coolants, excluding coolants used in non-vehicular applications.
(d) Rebuilt vehicular parts.
(a) Building insulation products, including the following items:
(1) Loose-fill insulation, including but not limited to cellulose fiber, mineral fibers (fiberglass and rock wool), vermiculite, and perlite;
(2) Blanket and batt insulation, including but not limited to mineral fibers (fiberglass and rock wool);
(3) Board (sheathing, roof decking, wall panel) insulation, including but not limited to structural fiberboard and laminated paperboard products, perlite composite board, polyurethane, polyisocyanurate, polystyrene, phenolics, and composites; and
(4) Spray-in-place insulation, including but not limited to foam-in-place polyurethane and polyisocyanurate, and spray-on cellulose.
(b) Structural fiberboard and laminated paperboard products for applications other than building insulation, including building board, sheathing, shingle backer, sound deadening board, roof insulating board, insulating wallboard, acoustical and non-acoustical ceiling tile, acoustical and non-acoustical lay-in panels, floor underlayments, and roof overlay (coverboard).
(c) Cement and concrete, including concrete products such as pipe and block containing:
(1) Coal fly ash;
(2) Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBF);
(3) Cenospheres; or
(4) Silica fume from silicon and ferrosilicon metal production.
(d) Carpet made from polyester fiber made from recovered materials for use in moderate-wear applications such as single-family housing and similar wear applications.
(e) Floor tiles and patio blocks containing recovered rubber or plastic.
(f) Shower and restroom dividers/partitions containing recovered plastic or steel.
(g)(1) Consolidated latex paint used for covering graffiti; and
(2) Reprocessed latex paint used for interior and exterior architectural applications such as wallboard, ceilings, and trim; gutter boards; and concrete, stucco, masonry, wood, and metal surfaces.
(h) Carpet cushion made from bonded polyurethane, jute, synthetic fibers, or rubber containing recovered materials.
(i) Flowable fill containing coal fly ash and/or ferrous foundry sands.
(j) Railroad grade crossing surfaces made from cement and concrete containing fly ash, recovered rubber, recovered steel, recovered wood, or recovered plastic.
(k) Modular threshold ramps containing recovered steel, rubber, or aluminum.
(l) Nonpressure pipe containing recovered steel, plastic, or cement.
(m) Roofing materials containing recovered steel, aluminum, fiber, rubber, plastic or plastic composites, or cement.
(a) Traffic barricades and traffic cones used in controlling or restricting vehicular traffic.
(b) Parking stops made from concrete or containing recovered plastic or rubber.
(c) Channelizers containing recovered plastic or rubber.
(d) Delineators containing recovered plastic, rubber, or steel.
(e) Flexible delineators containing recovered plastic.
(a) Playground surfaces and running tracks containing recovered rubber or plastic.
(b) Plastic fencing containing recovered plastic for use in controlling snow or sand drifting and as a warning/safety barrier in construction or other applications.
(c) Park benches and picnic tables containing recovered steel, aluminum, plastic, or concrete.
(d) Playground equipment containing recovered plastic, steel, or aluminum.
(a) Hydraulic mulch products containing recovered paper or recovered wood used for hydroseeding and as an over-spray for straw mulch in landscaping, erosion control, and soil reclamation.
(b) Compost made from recovered organic materials.
(c) Garden and soaker hoses containing recovered plastic or rubber.
(d) Lawn and garden edging containing recovered plastic or rubber.
(e) Plastic lumber landscaping timbers and posts containing recovered materials.
(f) Fertilizer made from recovered organic materials.
(a) Office recycling containers and office waste receptacles.
(b) Plastic desktop accessories.
(c) Toner cartridges.
(d) Plastic-covered binders containing recovered plastic; chipboard and pressboard binders containing recovered paper; and solid plastic binders containing recovered plastic.
(e) Plastic trash bags.
(f) Printer ribbons.
(g) Plastic envelopes.
(h) Plastic clipboards containing recovered plastic.
(i) Plastic file folders containing recovered plastic.
(j) Plastic clip portfolios containing recovered plastic.
(k) Plastic presentation folders containing recovered plastic.
(1) Office furniture containing recovered steel, aluminum, wood, agricultural fiber, or plastic.
(a) Pallets containing recovered wood, plastic, or paperboard.
(b) Sorbents containing recovered materials for use in oil and solvent clean-ups and as animal bedding.
(c) Industrial drums containing recovered steel, plastic, or paper.
(d) Awards and plaques containing recovered glass, wood, paper, or plastic.
(e) Mats containing recovered rubber and/or plastic.
(f)(1) Non-road signs containing recovered plastic or aluminum and road signs containing recovered aluminum.
(2) Sign supports and posts containing recovered plastic or steel.
(g) Manual-grade strapping containing recovered steel or plastic.
(h) Bike racks containing recovered steel or plastic.
(i) Blasting grit containing recovered steel, coal and metal slag, bottom ash, glass, plastic, fused alumina oxide, or walnut shells.