[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 71 (Monday, April 14, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18072-18074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-9517]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 247
[SWH-FRL-5810-8]
RIN 2050-AE23
Comprehensive Guideline for Procurement of Products Containing
Recovered Materials; Proposal To Designate Ink Jet Cartridges
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of Data Availability.
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SUMMARY: This notice summarizes information submitted in response to
the Environmental Protection Agency's November 7, 1996 proposal to
designate ink jet cartridges as a procurement item under section 6002
of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Based on this new
information, the Agency believes that there is insufficient evidence to
support a designation at this time. As a result, the Agency has
tentatively decided it will not include ink jet cartridges as a
designated item in the final Comprehensive Procurement Guideline when
it is promulgated. This notice summarizes the information available to
the Agency and requests additional information from interested parties.
DATES: EPA will accept public comments on the information in this
notice until May 14, 1997.
ADDRESSES: To comment on this notice, send an original and two copies
of comments to: RCRA Information Center (5305W), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460. Reference
docket number F-96-CP2P-FFFFF on the comments.
If any information is confidential, it should be identified as
such. An original and two copies of Confidential Business Information
(CBI) must be submitted under separate cover to: Document Control
Officer (5305W), Office of Solid Waste, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460.
Documents related to the proposal to designate ink jet cartridges
are available for viewing at the RCRA Information Center (RIC), which
is located at: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1235 Jefferson
Davis Highway, Ground Floor, Crystal Gateway One, Arlington, VA 22202.
The RIC is open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except for Federal holidays. The public must make an appointment to
review docket materials by calling (703) 603-9230. Copies cost $.15 per
page.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
General procurement guidelines information: RCRA Hotline at (800)
424-9346, TDD (800) 553-7672 (hearing impaired) or, in the Washington,
DC area at (703) 412-9810.
Proposed ink jet cartridge designation: Dana Arnold, (703) 308-
7279.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 7, 1996, EPA proposed to
designate ink jet cartridges as a procurement item under section 6002
of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). (See 61 FR
57747.) Based on a preliminary evaluation of public comments and
additional information submitted in response to the proposal, the
Agency has tentatively concluded that the record does not support a
designation of ink jet cartridges at this time.
I. Authority
42 U.S.C. 6912(a) and 6962; E.O. 12873, 58 FR 54911.
II. Background
Section 6002(e) of RCRA requires EPA to designate items that are or
can be made with recovered materials and to recommend practices to
assist procuring agencies in meeting their obligations with respect to
designated items under RCRA section 6002. After EPA designates an item,
RCRA requires that each procuring agency, when purchasing a designated
item, must purchase that item composed of the highest percentage of
recovered materials practicable.
Executive Order 12873 (the Executive Order) establishes the
procedure for EPA to follow in implementing RCRA section 6002(e).
Section 502 of the Executive Order directs EPA to issue a Comprehensive
Procurement Guideline (CPG) that designates items that are or can be
made with recovered materials. Concurrent with the CPG, EPA must
publish its recommended procurement practices for purchasing designated
items, including recovered materials content levels, in a related
Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN). The Executive Order also
directs EPA to update the CPG annually and to issue RMANs periodically
to reflect changing market conditions. The first CPG was published on
May 1, 1995 (60 FR 21370). It established eight product categories,
including Non-Paper Office Products, and designated items within those
categories.
On November 7, 1996 (61 FR 57747), EPA proposed to designate 13
additional items in the CPG (CPG II). The CPG II proposal included ink
jet cartridges in the Non-Paper Office Products category. Ink jet
cartridges are used in office equipment such as printers, facsimile
machines, and plotters. They consist of plastic cases containing ink, a
pump, filters, internal circuitry, and print heads (nozzles).
In the background documents for the proposed CPG II and the
companion draft RMAN, EPA discussed why it had initially concluded that
ink jet cartridges were items that are or may be produced with
recovered materials content. EPA explained that spent ink jet
cartridges could be refilled or remanufactured. Consequently, in
Section G-7 of the companion draft RMAN (61 FR 57760), EPA's tentative
recommendations suggested that, in order to procure ink jet cartridges,
agencies adopt one or both of the following approaches. An agency
could: (1) procure ink jet cartridge refilling services or (2) procure
refilled ink jet cartridges. EPA further recommended that procuring
agencies establish policies giving priority to refilling their spent
ink jet cartridges and, if refilling services are unavailable or
impractical, to purchase refilled ink jet cartridges.
III. Issues Raised by Commenters
Commenters raised a number of concerns in response to EPA's
proposal to designate ink jet cartridges. These included the impact of
the proposed ink jet cartridge designation on the solid waste stream,
the performance of refilled ink jet cartridges, and product
availability.
Subsequent to the close of the public comment period, EPA met with
one of the commenters (a major manufacturer of ink jet equipment and
ink jet cartridges) to discuss the proposed ink jet cartridge
designation. Minutes of this meeting have been added to RCRA Docket F-
96-CP2P-FFFFF to make the information received at the meeting available
for public review. In addition, EPA contacted the U.S. General Services
Administration's (GSA) Federal Supply Service to discuss GSA's public
comments on the proposed ink jet cartridge designation and issues
raised by the ink jet equipment manufacturers. A summary of information
obtained during these conversations has also been added to RCRA Docket
F-96-CP2P-FFFFF.
A. Impact on the Solid Waste Stream
One of the underlying purposes of the procurement guidelines
program is to harness Federal purchasing power to develop markets for
materials recovered from solid waste. As explained above, once EPA
designates an item, RCRA section 6002 requires a procuring agency to
purchase a designated item containing the highest percentage of
recovered materials practical. This means that EPA's designations can
help to create markets for recovered materials by creating markets for
products made from those materials. Given this potential, an important
element that EPA considers in its designation decision is whether
designation of a particular item will significantly reduce discarded
materials in the solid waste stream through the promotion of the
recovery of materials, including post-consumer materials. Thus, when
considering whether to designate an item, EPA examines the likely
impact of the designation on the volume of solid waste generated and
discarded annually.
In the background document for the proposed CPG II, ``Comprehensive
Procurement Guideline (CPG) II--Supporting Analyses,'' EPA stated that
ink jet cartridges are composed primarily of plastic, and plastics
constituted 10 percent of municipal solid waste in 1994. Approximately
80 to 90 million ink jet cartridges are discarded annually. EPA was not
able to quantify the amount of ink jet cartridges discarded by Federal
agencies, however.
Commenters noted that ink jet cartridges weigh approximately 1.40
ounces, which would equate to 3,400-3,900 tons of plastic discards
annually. The plastics comprising the largest fraction of the municipal
solid waste stream are polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high density
polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polyvinyl
chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS). Items
designated in the original CPG contain one or more of these plastics,
thus helping to create markets for these larger constituents of the
plastics waste stream. By contrast, commenters stated that ink jet
cartridges contain a specialty plastic and currently cannot be made
with recovered materials. Therefore, designating ink jet cartridges
would not create end-use markets for plastics recovered from municipal
solid waste and would not have a significant impact on the solid waste
stream.
In addition, it has been brought to EPA's attention that ink jet
cartridge refill kits generate a larger volume of solid waste than
discarded ink jet cartridges, including the packaging. The kits include
plastic containers for the replacement ink, tools for puncturing the
cartridges in order to add the ink, and plastic and paper packaging.
According to the information provided to EPA through public comments,
refill kits have a three to four times larger
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share of the refill market than do vendors that refill and return ink
jet cartridges to the user. Thus, the initial result of an ink jet
cartridge designation could well be a net increase in solid waste,
albeit a small increase when compared to the total amount of solid
waste generated annually.
B. Performance
EPA's initial research indicated inconsistent quality among the ink
jet cartridge refill kits and between the products of the ink jet
cartridge refillers. EPA's research also indicated a lack of quality
control standards for refillers and refill kits. Thus, while some
refillers are able to produce refilled ink jet cartridges with
acceptable performance characteristics, others have not been able to do
so consistently. Because there are no testing or other quality control
standards for procuring agencies to reference in their solicitations,
the quality of refilled ink jet cartridges may be of concern.
Further, EPA's initial research indicated that users of refilled
ink jet cartridges had sometimes experienced clogged nozzles and other
performance problems. EPA has received additional information in the
public comments that indicates performance problems have occurred.
According to one commenter, refilled ink jet cartridges can create a
number of problems, ranging from diminished ink quality to interference
with the proper operation of the ink jet nozzle. Commenters also
provided anecdotal information that faulty refilled ink jet cartridges
can and have caused damage to the office equipment in which they were
used. EPA discussed these performance concerns with GSA and found that,
because GSA has offered refilled ink jet cartridges only recently, no
record of customer satisfaction has been established. EPA seeks
additional information about the performance of refilled ink jet
cartridges, in particular the potential for damage to office equipment
caused by the use of this item.
EPA also has received conflicting information about whether ink jet
cartridges are designed to be refilled. Some original equipment
manufacturers stated, in their public comments, that the components in
ink jet cartridges are designed to last only for the supply of original
ink. In other words, ink jet cartridges are designed to be disposable.
However, there is evidence that ink jet cartridges can and are being
refilled and can perform adequately, even if they are not performing
identically to a new replacement ink jet cartridge.
C. Product Availability
EPA's initial research identified 24 companies that refill ink jet
cartridges for customers nationwide. In its comments, a major
manufacturer of new replacement ink jet cartridges questioned whether
refillers offer national coverage, particularly to rural areas,
although this manufacturer did not provide any hard evidence to the
contrary. This manufacturer also commented that its products are
available immediately, while refilled ink jet cartridges may not be
available immediately. Again, the manufacturer did not substantiate
this statement.
EPA has never limited its designations only to items that are
available immediately in every part of the United States. Because the
purpose of the federal buy-recycled program is to develop markets for
products containing recovered materials, it has always been understood
that these items might not be available to all procuring agencies in
all instances. Rather, it is expected that, as procuring agencies seek
to purchase products containing recovered materials, these items will
become more widely and universally available. For this reason, RCRA
section 6002 provides that procuring agencies are not required to buy
an EPA-designated item containing recovered materials if that item is
not available within a reasonable time. Nevertheless, the availability
of refilling services and refilled ink jet cartridges is a
consideration for EPA when designating ink jet cartridges. Therefore,
EPA seeks additional information about the availability of refilled ink
jet cartridges and refilling services.
IV. Conclusion
Usage of ink jet printers, facsimile machines, and plotters is
increasing rapidly. The ink jet cartridge supplier industry also is
evolving rapidly, as is the technology to refill ink jet cartridges.
EPA believes that, consistent with the Agency's waste management
hierarchy, which promotes waste prevention and recycling, ink jet
cartridges should be designed to be refillable and/or recyclable,
rather than disposable. However, these products must serve their
intended purpose and perform in an acceptable manner. While the Agency
acknowledges that some refilled ink jet cartridges may be of high
quality, the questions about the performance of refilled cartridges
discussed by commenters raise legitimate concerns that warrant further
consideration before the Agency designates ink jet cartridges in the
CPG. Moreover, designation of ink jet cartridges would not have a
significant impact on the solid waste stream because the specialty
plastic used in these cartridges cannot currently be made with
recovered materials. There is, in addition, some concern that
designation could actually result, in the near term, in a small
increase in the generation of solid waste associated with ink jet
cartridges. At this time, ink jet cartridge refill kits are generating
more waste than discarded cartridges. Based on these factors, EPA has
tentatively concluded that it is premature to designate ink jet
cartridges at this time. EPA solicits comment on the information
discussed in this notice and on the other newly docketed information
referenced in this notice.
Dated: April 8, 1997.
David A. Bussard,
Acting Director, Office of Solid Waste.
[FR Doc. 97-9517 Filed 4-11-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P