United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste
and Emergency Response
(5306W)
EcoPurchasing means
considering attributes
such as
"•»*
recycled content
toxicity
reusability
durability
repairability
-*.
"•»"
before you buy
a product.
2000 Buy-Recycled Series
Landscaping Products
LANDSCAPING
It might be easier than you think to
turn garbage into gardens! Whether
you're a park manager, professional
landscape!, or tend a small garden bed,
you'll find recycled-content products offer
a quick, effective, and affordable way to
make your grounds green.
To make it easier to buy recycled, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) updates the Comprehensive Procurement
Guidelines (CPG) every 2 years. Through the CPG, EPA designates
items that must contain recycled content when purchased by federal,
state, and local agencies, or by government contractors, using
appropriated federal funds. Several landscaping products are among
these items. EPA's research shows that the items designated in the
CPG are of high quality, widely available, and cost-competitive with
virgin products. EPA also issues nonregulatory companion
guidance—the Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN)—that
recommends levels of recycled content for these items.
So the next time you need a garden hose, edging, landscaping
timbers, or soil amendments, buy recycled! You'll help reduce waste,
and your landscape will turn a deeper shade of green.
> Printed on paper that contains at least 30 percent postconsumer fiber.
-------
What Is The CPG?
The CPG
requires
federal
agencies to
buy items
made from
recovered
materials.
Recycling is more than just dropping off
your cans, bottles, and newspapers at
the curb or at a local collection facili-
ty. Diverting recyclables from the waste stream
is only the first of three steps in the recycling
process. The second step occurs when compa-
nies use these recyclables to manufacture new
products. The third step comes when you pur-
chase products made from recovered materi-
als. That's how we close the loop.
To support markets for materials collected
in recycling programs and to help these
programs expand, the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act requires agencies to buy
recycled products designated by EPA. In
addition, President Clinton signed Executive
Order 13101 in September 1998, which called
for an increase in the federal government's use
of recycled-content and other environmentally
preferable products.
Issued in May 1995, the first CPG
designated 19 new products in seven product
categories, including yard waste trimmings
and hydraulic mulch. It also incorporated five
previously designated items. Procuring
agencies are required to purchase these items
with recycled content. The first CPG update
[CPG II) was published in November 1997,
and designated an additional 12 items,
including garden and soaker hoses and lawn
and garden edging. A second CPG update
[CPG III) was published in January 2000, and
designated an additional 18 items, including
food waste compost and plastic lumber
landscaping timbers and posts.
Procuring agencies include all federal
agencies, and any state or local government
agency or government contractor that uses
appropriated federal funds to purchase the
designated items. If your agency spends more
than $10,000 per year on a product designated
in the CPG, you are required to purchase it
with the highest recycled-content level
practicable. The CPG also applies to lease
contracts covering designated items.
Once designated, an agency has 1 year to
develop an affirmative procurement program
[or revise an existing one) for a designated
item it purchases. By May 1, 1996, agencies
were required to develop affirmative procure-
ment programs to incorporate buy-recycled
requirements for hydraulic mulch and yard
trimmings compost. By November 13, 1998,
agencies were required to revise their affirma-
tive procurement programs to incorporate
garden and soaker hoses and lawn and garden
edging. Agencies also must revise their
affirmative procurement program to add the
items designated under CPG III by January
2001. This effort might involve reviewing
specifications for these products and
eliminating provisions that pose barriers to
procuring them with recycled content
[such as aesthetic requirements unrelated to
product performance).
The CPG acknowledges, however, that
specific circumstances might arise that
preclude the purchase of products made with
recovered materials. Your agency may
purchase designated items that do not contain
recovered materials if it determines that:
1) the price of a given designated item made
with recovered materials is unreasonably high,
2) there is inadequate competition (not
enough sources of supply), 3) unusual and
unreasonable delays would result from
obtaining the item, or 4) the recycled-content
item does not meet the agency's reasonable
performance specifications.
-------
**>'J*e^v^V*
J\ r* - •
How Do I Purchase Recycled-Content Landscaping Products?
EPA issues guidance in RMANs,
which are designed to make it as
easy as possible to buy the designa-
ted items. The RMANs recommend
recycled-content levels to look for when
purchasing landscaping products, as
shown in the chart below. Following the
RMANs' recommended levels will help
ensure your affirmative procurement
program and standards meet the buy-
recycled requirements.
Rather than specifying just one level of
recycled content, the RMANs recommend
ranges that reflect actual market condit-
ions. The recommendations are based on
market research identifying recycled-
content products that are commercially
available, are competitively priced, and
meet buyers' quality standards.
Refer to EPA's availability list entitled
"Landscaping Products Containing
Recovered Materials" for sources of the
designated landscaping items. See the last
section of this fact sheet for this and other
helpful resources.
The RMAN
recommends
recycled-content
ranges at which
the designated
items are
generally
available in the
marketplace.
EPA's Recommended Content Levels for Landscaping Products
andscaping Produi
Hydraulic Mulch:
—Paper
—Wood/Paper
covered Material Content Recommendations
100% (postconsumer)
100% (total)
Compost Made From
Yard Trimmings and/or
FoodWaste
Purchase or use compost made from yard trimmings, leaves, grass
clippings and/or foodwastes for applications such as landscaping,
seeding of grass or other plants, as nutritious mulch under trees and
shrubs, and in erosion control and soil reclamation. EPA further
recommends implementing a composting system for these materials
when agencies have an adequate volume and sufficient space.
Garden Hose:
—Rubber and/or Plastic
Soaker Hose:
—Rubber and/or Plastic
60—65% (postconsumer)
60-70% (postconsumer)
Lawn and Garden Edging:
—Rubber and/or Plastic
30-100% (postconsumer) 730-100% (total)
Landscaping Timber and Posts:
—HDPE
—Mixed Plastics/Sawdust
—HDPE/Fiberglass
—Other Mixed Resins
25-100% (postconsumer)/75-100% (total)
50% (postconsumer)/100% (total)
75% (postconsumer)/95% (total)
50-100% (postconsumer)/95-100% (total)
-------
»«s«J
How Do I Purchase Recycled-Content Landscaping Products? (Continued)
Planting the Seeds:
Hydraulic Mulch
You might be establishing wildflowers along
an interstate or replanting grass on a public
golf course. In either case, your first step is
to plant the seeds. Hydraulic mulch is a quick,
proven, and affordable way to help get the job
done. Utilizing recovered newspaper and wood
products, hydraulic mulch is commonly used in
highway construction projects to grow grass along
embankments, medians, and roadways. It also is
used in recreational areas and on residential lawns.
Through hydroseeding, a mixture of water, seeds,
and hydraulic mulch is sprayed over soil. The
mulch stabilizes the soil, prevents wind and water
erosion, and provides protection and warmth for
the seeds, helping them grow.
Be sure you require that contractors use
hydraulic mulch for all your hydroseeding projects,
where appropriate. Hydraulic mulch not only
protects young seeds from the elements; it also
strengthens demand for wood waste and the news-
paper you recycle in your local recycling program.
CASE STUDY: Texas Department of Transportation
For more than 10 years, the Texas Department of
Transportation (TxDOT) has used hydraulic mulch
made from recovered newspaper and other
recovered paper fibers in its seeding operations in
highway construction. In 1998 alone, the agency
used more than 2,000 tons of the product to
establish vegetative cover along roadways and
embankments. The agency has tested the product's
performance and is pleased with the results. For
more information, contact Paul Northcutt of TxDOT
at 512 416-3091.
Strengthening the Soil:
Yard Trimmings and Food
Waste Compost
Used frequently in both commercial and
residential landscaping, yard trimmings
and food waste compost turns the organic
waste we might otherwise throw away—such as
grass, leaves, twigs, and fruit and vegetable
trimmings—into an effective soil amendment.
Compost returns nutrients to the soil, improves soil
texture, and promotes new plant growth.
Additionally, compost can suppress some plant
diseases and prevent soil erosion when used as
cover for seeded grass.
With an increase in the number of composting
facilities from 651 in 1988 to more than 3,200 in
1996, the market is clearly growing for this
valuable product. Even so, more yard trimmings
and food waste could still be composted. In 1996,
CASE STUDY: Washington State Department
of Transportation
The Washington State Department of Transportation
(WSDOT) first began using yard trimmings compost
as a soil amendment in response to a 1992
legislative mandate. Since then, the department has
used the material in a variety of roadside
revegetation and restoration projects as well as in
wetland mitigation sites. On any given project, the
department uses between 100 and several thousand
cubic yards of material. One project along Interstate
405, for example, used more than 2,900 cubic yards
of compost to enrich the soil. The department also
gives contractors clearing land the option of
chipping trees and shrubs and leaving the material
on site, saving hauling and disposal fees and
returning this material back to the soil. The
department has been very pleased with the
performance of the yard trimmings compost and
continues to increase its use of the material. For
more information, contact Mark Maurer of WSDOT
at 360 705-7242.
-------
these valuable organic materials constituted more
than 23 percent of our national waste stream, with
50 million tons generated, of which only about
one fourth that amount (11 million tons) was
recovered for composting.
Quenching Mother Nature's
Thirst: Garden and Soaker
Hoses
Once your seeds are planted and the soil is
enhanced with nutrient-rich compost,
nothing is more important than adequate
watering. The questions of how much and how
often to water are a matter of local climatic
conditions, but one thing is clear—buying
recycled-content garden and soaker hoses is the
ideal choice for watering your garden or planted
areas. Not only will these hoses deliver water to
meet your garden's needs, they also help create
new uses for old tires and recycled plastics from
items such as discarded cable wires and old
traffic cones.
CASE STUDY: Army Air Force Exchange Service
The Army Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES)
purchased more than 5.5 million feet of 65 percent
postconsumer recovered-content soaker hose during
the past 4 years, keeping thousands of scrap tires
out of landfills. AAFES operates retail stores for
active and retired members of the U.S. Army and
U.S. Air Force. Customers primarily use the product
in gardening and landscaping projects on military
bases and at private residences of military
personnel. For more information, contact Carol
Andrews of AAFES at 214 312-2236.
Building a Home for the
Garden: Landscaping
Timbers and Posts
(Plastic Lumber)
To create attractive and effective
landscaping, you'll need some construction
skills as well as a green thumb. Raised
beds, for example, will frame and protect flower
beds. Framed walkways, bordered lawns, and
flower beds all enhance the appearance of a
landscape. Likewise, retaining walls can control
erosion. Whether you're beautifying a park,
highway, housing development, zoo, or the
exterior of an office building, you can do it with
recycled-content landscaping timbers and posts.
The National Park Service is leading the way by
planning more than a dozen projects with timbers
and posts manufactured with plastic or composite
lumber, which give new life to recovered wood
and plastic materials such as milk jugs and
plastic bags.
The Border Line: Lawn and
Garden Edging
When you're ready to finish the job,
recycled-content lawn and garden
edging provides the perfect barrier for
delineating your beds. Sold in both industrial and
residential strengths, these quality products help
keep grass and weeds out of flower and vegetable
beds, saving time and money. You can purchase
up to 100 percent postconsumer recycled-content
edging, which is made from scrap rubber, milk
jugs, and other plastic containers.
-------
How Can I Get More Information?
Information Available
From EPA
This fact sheet and the following publications on
buying recycled-content products are available or
can be accessed in electronic format on the Internet at
. Use Internet e-mail to order paper copies
of documents. Include the requestor's name and mailing
address on all orders. Address e-mail to:
rcra-docket@epamail.epa.gov.
Paper copies also may be ordered by calling the RCRA
Hotline. Callers within the Washington Metropolitan Area must
dial 703 412-9810 or TDD 703 412-3323 (hearing impaired).
Long-distance callers may call 800 424-9346 or TDD 800 553-
7672. The RCRA Hotline operates weekdays, from 9:00 a.m. to
6:00 p.m., e.s.t.
* EPA Expands Comprehensive Procurement Guideline
(CPG) (EPA530-F-00-017). This fact sheet provides general
information about the CPG and the development of affirmative
procurement programs.
* Federal Register (FR) notices promulgating CPG I (60 FR
21370/EPA530-Z-95-006) and RMAN I (60 FR
21386/EPA530-Z-95-007), May 1, 1995. FR notices
promulgating CPG II (62 FR 60961/EPA530-Z-97-009) and
RMAN II (62 FR 60975/EPA530-Z-97-010), November 13,
1997. FR notices promulgating CPG III (65 FR 3070) and
RMAN III (65 FR 3082), January 19, 2000.
* Landscaping Products Containing Recovered Materials
(EPA530-B-99-015). This list identifies sources of landscaping
products containing recovered materials.
* EPA has also developed a presentation folder that highlights
new and innovative uses for compost (EPA530-F-97-047).
The following compost fact sheets are available from EPA:
- Innovative Uses of Compost—Bioremediation and
Pollution Prevention (EPA530-F-97-042).
- Innovative Uses of Compost—Erosion Control, Turf
Remediation, and Landscaping (EPA530-F-97-043).
- Innovative Uses of Compost—Disease Control for
Plants and Animals (EPA530-F-97-044).
- Innovative Uses of Compost—Composting of Soils
Contaminated by Explosives (EPA530-F-97-045).
- Innovative Uses of Compost—Reforestation, Wetlands
Restoration, and Habitat Revitalization (EPA530-F-
97-046).
A Study of State and Local Government Procurement
Practices that Consider Environmental Performance of
Goods and Services (EPA742-R-96-007). This report
provides important program elements and case studies of
state and county agencies purchasing environmentally
preferable products and services. For a copy of the report or
more information on EPA's Environmentally Preferable
Purchasing (EPP) program, contact the Pollution Prevention
Information Clearinghouse at 401 M Street, SW. (7409),
Washington, DC 20460. Phone: 202 260-1023. Fax: 202 260-
4659. Visit the EPP Web site at .
Other Sources of
Information
* Buy Recycled Business Alliance. The
Alliance includes over 3,200 companies and
organizations committed to increasing their use of recycled-
content products and materials in their day-to-day operations.
The Alliance offers educational materials, a quarterly
newsletter, and product-specific guides. Public purchasing
entities can join for free. For more information, contact Kevin
Barry, National Recycling Coalition, 1727 King Street, Suite
105, Alexandria, VA 22314-2720. Phone: 703 683-9025, Ext.
210. Fax: 703 683-9026.
Web site: www.nrc-recycle.org
E-mail: brbainfo@nrc-recycle.org.
The Composting Council. The Composting Council offers
educational materials and workshops on composting and
seeks to develop standards for compost. For more
information, contact the organization at 114 South Pitt Street,
Alexandria, VA22314. Phone: 703 739-2401.
Fax: 703 739-2407.
Web site: www.composter.com/composting/compcouncil/
U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). GSA
publishes various supply catalogs, guides, and schedules for
recycled-content products available through the Federal
Supply Service. For copies of the following document and
other information, contact GSA, Centralized Mailing List
Service (7CAFL), 4900 Hemphill Street, P.O. Box 6477, Fort
Worth, TX 76115-9939. Phone: 817 334-5215. Fax: 817 334-
5561. You can also access GSA Advantage!, GSAs Internet-
based online ordering system, to order any GSA product at
.
-------
- Environmental Products Guide. This guide is designed
to help procurement officials identify environmentally
preferable products and services. It contains nearly 3,000
items, including many recycled-content products.
Green Seal. Green Seal is a national nonprofit labeling
organization that sets environmental standards, including
those for garden hoses, and awards a Green Seal of Approval
to products meeting those standards. For more information,
contact Green Seal at 1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW., Suite
827, Washington, DC 20036. Phone: 202 872-6400.
Fax: 202 872-4324.
Web site: www.greenseal.org
Greening the Government: A Guide to Implementing
Executive Order 12873. This guide provides detailed
information on establishing and implementing federal
affirmative procurement plans. Updated in the summer of
1997, it is available without charge from the Office of the
Federal Environmental Executive, Ariel Rios Building, Mail
Code 1600S, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington,
DC 20460. Phone: 202 564-1297. Fax: 202 564-1393.
Web site: www.ofee.gov
You can also download an electronic version on the Internet
at .
Official Recycled Products Guide. This directory lists more
than 5,000 manufacturers and distributors of recycled-content
products. Contact: Recycling Data Management Corporation,
P.O. Box 577, Ogdensburg, NY 13669. Phone: 800 267-0707.
Fax: 315 471-3258.
Recycled Plastic Products Source Book. Recycled Plastic
Products Source Book. This booklet lists more than 1,300
plastic products from approximately 300 manufacturers. For
more information, call the American Plastics Council (APC),
1801 K Street, NW., Suite 7010, Washington, DC 20006.
Phone: 202 974-5400. Fax: 202 296-7119. Visit the APC
Web site at .
Recycled Rubber Products Catalog. This catalog lists
products manufactured from recovered rubber and provides
information on how to obtain them. For more information,
contact the Scrap Tire Management Council, 1400 K Street,
NW., Suite 900, Washington, DC 20005. Phone: 202 682-
4880. Fax: 202 682-4854. The catalog can be viewed on the
Internet at .
Products and Services Directory. This publication lists
manufacturers of erosion control products, including hydraulic
mulch. For more information, contact the International Erosion
Control Association, P.O. Box 774904, Steamboat Springs,
CO 80477. Phone: 800 455-4322. Fax: 970 879-8563.
Web site: www.ieca.org
Internet Sites
Government Sites
•»• The Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines:
. This site describes EPA's effort to
facilitate the procurement of products containing recovered
materials, including information on CPG, RMANs, and the
Buy-Recycled Series.
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP):
. EPA's Environmentally Preferable
Purchasing program encourages and assists federal agencies
to purchase environmentally preferable products and
services. The site explains EPA's guiding principles for
including environmental performance in purchasing decision-
making, and posts case studies of successful pilot projects in
both the public and private sectors.
Federal Trade Commission: . The Federal Trade Commission issued
Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims in
May 1998.
Jobs Through Recycling: . EPA's Jobs
Through Recycling program stimulates economic growth and
recycling market development by assisting businesses and
supporting a network of state and regional recycling contacts.
This Web site provides information on financing and technical
assistance for recycling businesses as well as other market
development tools.
King County Recycled Product Procurement Program:
. This site describes
the tools and techniques developed by King County,
Washington, agencies for purchasing recycled products.
Municipal Solid Waste: . This site
includes information on recycling, source reduction, and
reuse. Contains state municipal solid waste data and the
latest facts and figures on waste generation and disposal.
WasteWise: . WasteWise is a
free, voluntary EPA program through which organizations
eliminate costly municipal solid waste, benefitting their bottom
line and the environment. The program provides hands-on
assistance to members to help them purchase or manufacture
recycled-content products, prevent waste, and recycle solid
waste materials.
-------
How Can I Get More Information? (Continued)
Product Information
* Recycling Data Network Information Services:
. This commercial Web site
provides access, on a subscription basis, to a recycled-content
products database of over 4,500 listings in 700 product
classifications. It also provides a reference library and a
newsletter. Managed by the publisher of the Official Recycled
Products Guide, the product database is considered to be the
largest of its kind.
* California Recycled-Content Product Database:
. This site contains information on
why to buy recycled-content products, how to procure them,
and provides access to a database with information on
products, as well as manufacturers, distributors, reprocessors,
mills, and convertors across the country who procure or
produce these products.
* Fedmarket Procurement Assistance Jumpstation:
. This
site contains links to many sites containing procurement
information.
In addition, contact your state solid waste management agency
for information about local and regional businesses that
produce or distribute recycled-content products.
00£$
JOJ
ssaunsng
091?02 3d '
W\N 'anuaAy
6u|p|mg
AbuaBy uojpaiojd
Q02L
(M90£9)
------- |