[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 109 (Monday, June 8, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31217-31218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-15176]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[SWH-FRL-6108-7]


Recovered Materials Advisory Notice I Update

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability of document.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today is 
providing notice of the issuance of an update to its May 1, 1995 
Recovered Materials Advisory Notice I (RMAN I). The update to RMAN I 
(RMAN I Update) provides guidance to procuring agencies for purchasing 
certain items containing recovered materials. Under section 6002 of the 
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, EPA designates items 
that are or can be made with recovered materials and provides 
recommendations for the procurement of these items. In 1989, EPA 
designated building insulation products and in 1995, EPA designated 
polyester carpet for use in low- and medium-wear applications. EPA's 
recommendations for purchasing these items were published in the 1995 
RMAN I. Today's RMAN I Update contains a new reference to GSA's carpet 
schedule and a recommendation for the recovered materials content level 
for plastic batt building insulation. EPA's 1995 recommendations for 
purchasing other types of building insulation remain unchanged.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information contact the 
RCRA Hotline at (800) 424-9346 or TDD (800) 553-7672 (hearing 
impaired). In the Washington, DC metropolitan area, call (703) 412-9810 
or TDD (703) 412-3323. For technical information on individual item 
recommendations, contact Terry Grist at (703) 308-7257.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Authority

    The Recovered Materials Advisory Notice I Update (RMAN I Update) is 
issued under the authority of sections 2002(a) and 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. 6912(a) and 2962; 
and section 502 of Executive Order 12873 (58 FR 54911, October 20, 
1993).

II. Background

    Section 6002 of RCRA establishes a Federal buy-recycled program. 
RCRA section 6002(e) requires EPA to (1) designate items that are or 
can be made with recovered materials and (2) prepare guidelines to 
assist procuring agencies in complying with affirmative procurement 
requirements set forth in paragraphs (c), (d), and (i) of section 6002. 
Once EPA has designated items, section 6002 requires that any procuring 
agency using appropriated Federal funds to procure those items must 
purchase them composed of the highest percentage of recovered materials 
practicable. For the purposes of RCRA section 6002, procuring agencies 
include the following: (1) any Federal agency; (2) any State or local 
agencies using appropriated Federal funds for a procurement, or (3) any 
contractors with these agencies (with respect to work performed under 
the contract). The requirements of RCRA section 6002 apply to such 
procuring agencies only when procuring designated items where the price 
of the item exceeds $10,000 or the quantity of the item purchased in 
the previous year exceeded $10,000.
    Executive Order 12873 (the Executive Order) (58 FR 54911, October 
22, 1993) directs EPA to designate items in a Comprehensive Procurement 
Guideline (CPG) and publish guidance that contains EPA's recommended 
recovered content levels for the designated items in the RMANs. The 
Executive Order further directs EPA to update the CPG annually and the 
RMANs periodically to reflect changes in market conditions. EPA 
codifies the CPG designations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 
but, because the recommendations are guidance, the RMANs are not 
codified in the CFR. This process enables EPA to revise its 
recommendations in response to changes in a product's availability or 
recovered materials content so as to provide timely assistance to 
procuring agencies in fulfilling their responsibilities under section 
6002.
    EPA issued CPG I on May 1, 1995 (60 FR 21370) designating 19 new 
items, including polyester carpet, and published RMAN I for the 
designated items on the same day (60 FR 21386). These notices also 
consolidated the guidelines previously issued for five items designated 
between 1983 and 1989, including building insulation products. At the 
time the 1995 RMAN I was published, the U.S. General Services 
Administration (GSA) offered polyester carpet containing recovered 
materials through the New Item Introductory Schedule (NIIS). RMAN I 
referenced that schedule. Since then, GSA has added polyester carpet 
containing recovered materials to its carpet schedule, and this item is 
no longer available through the NIIS. Accordingly, today's RMAN I 
Update references the current GSA carpet schedule.
    Additionally, the RMAN I Update contains an addition to the 1995 
recommendations for building insulation products--recovered materials 
content levels for plastic non-woven batt building insulation. EPA 
recently learned that this type of insulation is now available 
containing recovered materials. EPA's 1995 recommendations for other 
types of building insulation products remain unchanged.

III. Accessing Internet

    EPA's Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines and eco-purchasing web 
pages contain fact sheets about each product category in which EPA has 
designated recycled content products, lists of manufacturers and 
vendors of these products, copies of the Comprehensive Procurement 
Guidelines and related RMANs, and technical background documents.
    Follow these instructions to access the information electronically:

WWW: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/procure.htm.
FTP: ftp.epa.gov
Login: anonymous
Password: your Internet address
Files are located in /pub/epaoswer.

IV. Use of EPA's Recommendations

    EPA encourages state and local agencies to use the recommendations 
in today's RMAN I Update when purchasing plastic batt building 
insulation or polyester carpet containing recovered materials. EPA also 
encourages private sector purchasers to use the information provided by 
EPA when purchasing these items. EPA recommends that purchasers 
establish their minimum content standards at the highest percentages 
available to them that achieve their price and performance objectives, 
even if these standards are higher or lower than EPA's recommendations. 
If a product is not available at a competitive price containing the 
recommended recovered material content levels, purchasers should set 
their standards at the highest levels available to them that meet their 
price and performance objectives. In this way, EPA's recommendations 
will encourage both public and private sector purchasers to purchase 
the designated items containing the highest levels of recovered 
material practicable.

[[Page 31218]]

    EPA cautions persons using EPA's recommendations to use them only 
for the specific items for which they were intended. It is not 
appropriate to analogize from one type of insulation or carpet to 
another without first researching the use of recovered materials in the 
other items. The two items could have different performance 
requirements necessitating different levels of recovered materials.

    Dated: June 1, 1998.
Timothy Fields, Jr.,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency 
Response.

Recovered Materials Advisory Notice I Update

    Following are updates to EPA's recommendations to procuring 
agencies for purchasing polyester carpet and building insulation 
products containing recovered materials, in compliance with section 
6002 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). These 
recommendations are intended to be used in conjunction with RMAN I (60 
FR 21386, May 1, 1995). The remainder of the RMAN I recommendations for 
these items remains unchanged. Refer to RMAN I or the Code of Federal 
Regulations at 40 CFR part 247 for definitions, general recommendations 
for affirmative procurement programs, and additional recommendations 
for purchasing these items containing recovered materials.

Part C.--Construction Products (Revised)

Section C-1. Building Insulation (Revised)

    Note: EPA recommended purchasing practices, including recovered 
materials content levels, for thermal building insulation products 
in RMAN I. EPA is revising those recommendations by adding a 
recovered materials content level for plastic batt building 
insulation. Procuring agencies should substitute the revised Table 
C-1 shown below for the recommendations found in section C-1 of the 
1995 RMAN I. EPA's revised recommendations are indicated in Bold 
type.

    Preference Program: EPA recommends that, based on the recovered 
materials content levels shown in Table C-1 (Revised), procuring 
agencies establish minimum content standards for use in purchasing 
building insulation products.

Table C-1. (Revised)--Recommended Recovered Materials Content Levels for
                           Building Insulation                          
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Total   
                                                              recovered 
       Insulation material            Recovered material      materials 
                                                                 (%)    
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cellulose loose-fill and spray-on  Postconsumer paper......           75
Fiberglass.......................  Glass cullet............        20-25
Perlite composite board..........  Postconsumer paper......           23
Phenolic rigid foam..............  Recovered materials.....            5
Plastic, non-woven batt..........  Recovered and/or                  100
                                    postconsumer plastics.              
Plastic foam-in-place,             Recovered materials.....            5
 polyisocyanurate/polyurethane.                                         
Plastic rigid foam,                Recovered materials.....            9
 polyisocyanurate/polyurethane.                                         
Plastic foam, glass fiber          Recovered materials.....            6
 reinforced polyisocyanurate/                                           
 polyurethane.                                                          
Rock wool........................  Slag....................           75
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Note: The recommended recovered materials content levels are 
based on the weight (not volume) of materials in the insulating core 
only.

Section C-4. Carpet (Revised)

    Note: EPA recommended purchasing practices, including 
specifications, for polyester carpet in RMAN I. EPA is revising 
these recommendations to add a reference to the General Services 
Administration's carpet schedule and the current contract for 
polyester carpet containing recovered materials. All of EPA's other 
purchasing recommendations for polyester carpet, found in the 1995 
RMAN I, remain unchanged.

    Preference Program: EPA recommends that Federal procuring agencies 
use GSA's contract GS-27F-5069-C under Schedule 72, part I, section A, 
when purchasing polyester carpet containing recovered materials.

[FR Doc. 98-15176 Filed 6-5-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-U