United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste
and Emergency Response
(5306W)
EPA530-F-97-031
November 1997
http://www.epa.gov
1997 Buy Recycled Series
Pallets (Miscellaneous Products)
EcoPurchasing means
considering attributes
such as
*
recycled content
toxicity
reusability
durability
repairability
*
before you buy
a product.
ow you can meet your shipping
requirements in a way that's cost-
effective, reliable, and earth-
friendly. Today's pallets made from recycled
materials offer the strength, durability, and
performance you demand. That's why
businesses and public sector buyers across
the country are using and reusing recovered content pallets,
extending the lives of these products and even creating new jobs.
Through the Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG), the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designates items that
must contain recycled content when purchased by federal, state,
and local agencies or by government contractors using appropriated
federal funds. 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 a non-regulatory companion
piece—the Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN)—that
recommends levels of recycled content for these items. To make it
even easier to buy recycled, EPA updates the CPG each year.
Whether your agency ships supplies, mail, equipment, or
products, pallets are an indispensable tool. Make buying recycled
indispensable as well! If you're involved in warehousing or
distributing products, make a! commitment to buy recycled pallets.
Printed on paper that contains at least 20 percent postconsumer fiber.
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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 facility. Diverting
recyclables from the waste stream is
only the first step in the recycling
process. The second step occurs when
companies use these recyclables to
manufacture new products. The third
step comes when you purchase products
made from recovered materials. That's
how we close the loop.
To encourage the purchase of
recycled products, the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
requires agencies to buy recycled
products. In addition, President Clinton
signed Executive Order 12873 in October
1993, which called for an increase in the
federal government's use of recycled-
content products. Developed in response
to these directives, the CPG requires
federal agencies to give preference to
EPA-designated items made with
recovered materials. This, in turn,
supports recycling markets and allows
recycling to continue to expand.
Issued in May 1995, the first CPG
designated 19 new products and
incorporated 5 previously designated
items in 7 product categories. Procuring
agencies are required to purchase these
items with recycled content. (A
procuring agency is any federal, state, or
local agency, or government contractor,
which uses appropriated federal funds to
purchase products.) A CPG update (CPG
II) was published in November 1997,
and designated an additional 12
products, including pallets.
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.
Your agency is required to develop an
affirmative procurement program (or
modify its existing program) to
incorporate buy-recycled requirements
for pallets by November 13, 1998. This
effort might involve reviewing your
specifications for pallets 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. You may
purchase designated items that do not
contain recovered materials if you
determine 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) it does not
meet your agency's reasonable
performance specifications.
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* National Wooden Pallet and Container Association
(NWPCA). This international trade association
represents manufacturers, recyclers, and distributors of
pallets, containers, and reels. NWPCA is developing a
standard for repaired pallets. For more information,
contact NWPCA at 1800 North Kent Street, Suite 911,
Arlington, VA 22209-2109. Phone: 703 527-7667.
Fax: 703 527-7717. Homepage:
http ://www.n wpca.com.
* National Wood Recycling Directory. This reference
book provides a list of manufacturers of recovered wood
products, including remanufactured wooden pallets. For
more information, contact the American Forest and
Paper Association (AF&PA), 1111 19th Street, NW.,
Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036. Phone: 202 463-
2700. Fax: 202 463-5180. Users can also search the
directory online at AF&PA's website at
http://afandpa.org/Recycling/Wood/Search.htm.
* Official Recycled Products Guide. This directory lists
more than 5,000 manufacturers and distributors of
recycled-content products, including those of pallets.
Contact: Recycling Data Management Corporation, P.O.
Box 577, Ogdensburg, NY 13669. Phone: 800 267-
0707. Fax:315471-3258.
* Plastic Lumber Trade Association (PLTA). PLTA is a
non-profit, membership organization working to promote
the interests of the recycled plastic lumber industry.
Their work includes collaborating with the American
Society for Testing and Materials to set industrywide
standards for recycled plastic lumber. For more
information, contact Alan E. Bobbins, President, P.O.
Box 80311, Akron, OH 44308-9998.
Phone and Fax: 330 762-1963.
* Recycled Plastic Products Source Book. This booklet
lists more than 1,300 plastic products from
approximately 300 manufacturers, including pallets. 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 homepage at http://www.plasticsresource.com.
* Sustaining Business & Jobs Through Pallet Repair &
Reuse. This report lists pallet reuse and recycling
operations across the country and highlights case
studies of model reuse programs. For more information,
contact Brenda Platt at the Institute for Local Self-
Reliance, 2425 18th Street, NW., Washington, DC
20009-2096. Phone: 202 232-4108. Fax: 202 332-0463.
Internet Sites
*• American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM):
http://www.astm.org/prodserv.html. This
site provides links to ASTM standards, the products and
services offered by ASTM, and other news and
information.
* California Recycled-Content Product Database:
http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/mrt/rcp/rcp.htm. 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
converters across the country who procure or produce
these products.
* King County Recycled Product Procurement
Program: http://www.metrokc.gov/oppis/recyclea.html.
This site describes the tools and techniques developed
by KingiCounty, Washington, agencies for purchasing
recycled products.
* The Procurement Assistance Jumpstation:
http://www.fedmarket.com/procinet.html. This site
contains links to many sites containing procurement
information.
* Reduce, Reuse, Recycle—Through Procurement:
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/procure.htm.
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.
In -addition, contact your state solid waste
management agency for information about local
and regional businesses that produce or distribute
; recycled-content products.
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How Do I Get More Inforilllioii?
Information Available
From EPA
This fact sheet and the following publications
on buying recycled products are available in
electronic format on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/
epaoswer/non-hw/procure.htm. 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. Text of the following
Federal Register notices can be found at
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/search.htm. Search by
specific day, by keywords, or by accessing the
Government Printing Office database.
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., EST.
& EPA Issues Comprehensive Procurement Guideline
(EPA530-F-95-010). This 4-page fact sheet provides
general information about the CPG and the
development of affirmative procurement programs.
«3* Federal Register (FR) notices promulgating CPG I (60
FR 21370/EPA530-Z-95-006) and RMAN I (60 FR
213S6/EPA530-Z-95-007), May 1, 1995. Federal
Register notices promulgating CPG II (62 FR
60961/EPA530-Z-97-009) and RMAN II (62 FR
60975/EPA530-Z-97-010), November 13, 1997.
<• Miscellaneous Products (Pallets) Containing
Recovered Materials (EPA530-B-97-007). This list
identifies manufacturers and suppliers of pallets.
* 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 homepage
at http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/p2home.
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 Bonnie Fedchock, National Recycling
Coalition, 1727 King Street, Suite 105, Alexandria, VA22314-
2720. Phone: 703 683-9025, Ext. 209. Fax: 703 683-9026.
*• 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
334-5227. You can also access GSA Advantage!, GSA's
Internet-based online ordering system, to order any GSA
product at https://www.fss.gsa.gov/cgi-bins/advwel.
- 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.
* 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, 401 M Street SW., (Mail
Code 1600) Washington, DC 20460. Phone: 202 260-1297.
Fax: 202 401-9503. Homepage: http://www.ofee.gov.
•> National Association of State Purchasing Officials
(NASPO). NASPO's Internet-based Database of
Recycled Commodities (DRC) includes information from
states on their recycled product procurement. Data
include product distributors, manufacturers, brand
names, recycled and postconsumer content, "Energy
Star" rating, units purchased, unit of measurement, unit
price, and type of procurement. Visit the site at
http://fcn.state.fl.us/bpsr/drc_notice.html. For more
information, contact George C. Banks, DRC Coordinator,
Florida Department of Management Services, 4050
Esplanade Way, Suite 335, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0950.
Phone: 850 921-7852. Fax: 850 921-5979.
E-mail: banksg@dms.mail.ufl.edu.
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To help agencies comply with
the buy-recycled require-
ments, EPA also issues
guidance in RMANs, which are
designed to make it as easy as
possible to buy the designated
items. RMAN II recommends
recycled-content levels to look for
when purchasing pallets, as shown
below. Following the RMANs'
recommended levels will help
ensure that 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 conditions.
The recommendations are based on
market research identifying
recycled-content products that are
commercially available, are
competitively priced, and meet
buyers' quality standards.
You can purchase recovered-
content pallets from a growing
number of manufacturers. Refer to
EPA's Miscellaneous Products
(Pallets) Containing Recovered
Materials for sources for your next
purchase.
Also, consider repairing your
used pallets either by establishing
an in-house pallet reuse operation
or by contracting for these services.
Agencies such as the Department
of Defense District Depot (see case
study) are reaping the benefits of
pallet repair and reuse. To assist in
these efforts, the National Wooden
Pallet and Container Association is
developing a standard for repaired
pallets that will be available in late
1997.
In a major waste reduction;
initiative, the Department of
Defense District Depot in
Susquehanna, Pennsylvania
(DDSP), has been manufacturing
and using remanufactured;
wooden pallets since 1995] DDSP
collects and repairs its used
pallets and sells the excess scrap
wood, nails, and sawdust to local
entrepreneurs. The depot uses
between 12,000 to 14,000 pallets
per month. This pallet repair
operation not only saves •
considerable money; it also
created six new jobs. DDSP
received the White House
Closing the Circle Award for this
program. For more information,
contact Jerry Clemens at
717 770-7405.
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS)
currently uses 185,000
recovered-content plastic pallets
to help meet its shipping needs.
USPS uses a "closed loop"
system, in which pallets are
sent to and returned from
distribution points, remaining
within the mail system. This
system allows the pallets to be
reused hundreds of times and
has resulted in significant
savings. USPS will continue to
pursue this effort and plans to
purchase an additional 400,000
recycled-content pallets in
1997. USPS is also considering
expanding this program to
include sending discarded
pallets back to their
manufacturers to be recycled
into new pallets. For more
information, contact J. Paul
Seehaver at 202 268-4376.
Wood_
Plastic
95 - 100% (postconsumer)
— Plastic Lumber
— Thermoformed
100% (postconsumer)
25 — 50% (postconsumer)
Paperboard
50% (postconsumer)
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&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
401 M Street, SW. (5306W)
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
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