September 10, 2001—In an effort to encourage manufacturers to expand their use of recovered materials, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed to designate eleven recycled-content products that government agencies are required to purchase. The action, known as the Comprehensive Procurement Guideline, covers five product categories: vehicular, construction, transportation, non-paper office products, and miscellaneous products. Specifically, EPA is proposing to designate rebuilt motor parts, roofing materials, piping, cement and concrete containing both silica fume and cenospheres, nylon carpet, modular threshold ramps, tires, office furniture, bicycle racks, and blasting grit.
Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and E.O. 13101, federal agencies are required to purchase EPA-designated items containing recovered materials whenever those products meet their performance specifications and are available at a reasonable cost. RCRA also applies the buy-recycled requirement to state and local government agencies that use appropriated federal funds to purchase a designated product and purchase $10,000 or more worth of any designated item.
For more information and copies of the procurement guideline or recovered materials advisory notice, contact EPA at 800/424-9346.
