v>EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OS-305) EPA/530-SW-91-046 June 1991 Office of Solid Waste Environmental Fact Sheet EPA Guideline for Purchasing Paper and Paper Products On June 22, 1988, EPA issued a guideline for fed- eral procurement of paper and paper products contain- ing recovered materials. The purpose of the guideline is to use 'the stimulus of government procurement to increase the use of these products within both gov- ernment and private sectors. It requires all federal agen- cies and all state and local government agencies and contractors that use federal funds to purchase such products to the maximum extent practicable. Recommended Minimum Content EPA recommends that procuring agencies set mini- mum-content standards for paper and paper products containing recovered materi- als. Agencies should set their standards at the high- est levels practicable, but no lower than the levels shown in Table 1. In the case of printing and writing paper, EPA recommends "waste paper" minimum-content standards; for other catego- ries such as newsprint, tissue, and packaging, EPA recommends post-consumer material minimum-content stan- dards. (See the definitions at the end of this Fact Sheet.) The paper guideline does not indicate whether the percentage of recovered- material content is based on the total weight of the paper or on the total fiber weight. In implementing the guide- line, the Government Print- ing Office (GPO) has based the percentage of recovered- material content on total fiber weight. EPA supports GPO's position on this mat- ter. At the time EPA issued the guideline, it did not recommend minimun-con- tent standards for high- speed copier paper and and forms bond because of a lack of availability of these papers. Because their avail- ability has increased, EPA issued a Procurement Guide- line Advisory on November 21,1990, stating that procur- ing agencies should consider revising their minimum- content standards for high- speed copier paper and forms bond to a 50 percent "waste paper" standard, as noted in Table 1. In addition, procur- ing agencies should consider revising their minimum- content standard for cotton fiber paper from 25 percent recovered cotton or linen fiber to 75 percent recovered mate- rial (not less than 25 percent recovered cotton or linen fiber and 50 percent waste paper), as noted in Table 1. Other Specifications Beyond including mini- mum-content standards in agency procurement specifi- cations, procuring agencies should review their paper Printed on Recycled Paper ------- Table 1 EPA-RECOMMENDED MINIMUM-CONTENT STANDARDS FOR SELECTED PAPERS AND PAPER PRODUCTS Paper and Paper Products Offset printing Mimeo and duplicator paper Writing paper (stationery) Office paper (e.g., note pads) Paper for high-speed copiers Envelopes Forms bond, including computer paper and carbonless Bond papers Book papers Ledger paper Cover stock Cotton fiber paper Minimum Percent of "Waste Paper" 50 50 50 50 50* 50 50* 50 50 50 50 25 percent recovered cotton or linen fiber, plus 50 percent "waste paper* 'The percentage is obtained from Procurement Guidelines Advisory #2; the paper guideline did not recommend a percentage. Paper and Paper Products Newsprint Tissue Products: Toilet tissue Paper napkins Paper towels Facial tissue Doilies Industrial wipers Unbleached packaging: Corrugated boxes Fiber boxes Brown papers (e.g., bags) Paperboard products, including folding cartons Pad backing Minimum Percent of Postconsumer Recovered Material 40 20 30 40 5 40 0 35 35 5 80 90 specifications to remove subtle barriers to purchas- ing paper containing recov- ered material. Paper prod- ucts must meet all reason- able performance specifica- tions. Some performance specifications, however, may be more stringent than necessary. For example, a brightness specification for a particular paper item may exclude many papers con- taining recovered materials and thus may be unneces- sarily stringent, considering the use of that item. Such a specification should be revised. GSA and GPO Experience The principal federal procuring agencies for paper and paper products are GPO and the General Ser- vices Administration (GSA). Paper Specifications GSA reviewed and re- vised 114 paper specifica- tions used to procure a variety of paper products for the federal government. These include towels, napkins, bags, facial tissue, shipping boxes, offset paper, kraft wrap, and envelopes. The paper specifications used by GPO are issued by the Joint Committee on Printing (JGP), a Congres- sional oversight committee. ------- For most categories of paper, the JCP superim- poses EPA's recommended minimum-content standards on its existing specifications. In June 1990, the JCP issued four new specifica- tions, for Recycled Offset Book, Recycled Groundwood Forms Bond, Recycled 25 percent B»ond, and Recycled Plain Copier Xerographic. These new specifications increased the minimum content of "waste pap>er" for these papers, reflecting the fact that new products containing recovered mate- rial have become available since the paper guideline was issued. Affirmative Procurement Programs Both GSA and GPO have established affirmative procurement programs for paper containing recovered material. They are actively soliciting available products containing recovered mate- rial that are reasonably priced, available within a reasonable time period, and that perform as specified. In the fall of 1990, GPO added copier paper contain- ing recovered material to its affirmative procurement program, using the new JCP specification 0-65. GPO has established a Qualified Products List for copier paper containing recovered material and has had some success purchasing it for use by federal agencies. In December 1990, using the new JCP specification, GSA awarded contracts for copier paper containing recovered material. GPO is promoting its procurement program by publishing advance notices of quarterly paper solicita- tions in Walden's Paper Report and in the Commerce Business Daily. The paper solicitations highlight mini- mum-content requirements for recovered material. GPO has also issued periodic guidance to its commercial printing contractors, ex- plaining the implementation details of its affirmative procurement program. GSA is publishing no- tices of solicitations in the Commerce Business Daily. These notices state that there are minimum-content requirements for recovered material content and, in some instances, specify the minimum content required. GSA publicizes to its cus- tomers (i.e., federal agen- cies) Market Tips, a monthly newsletter, and Customer Grams, a quarterly publica- tion. In addition, GSA's 1991 Federal Supply Cata- log indicates the recovered- material content of the products it stocks. Vendors to GPO and GSA are required to certify the percentage of recovered material actually used in performance of the contract and must make their own arrangements for obtaining this information from the mill. The certification then becomes part of the contract awarded to the successful vendor. Summary of Federal Achievements • From July 1, 1989, through Decembers, 1990, GSA made 193 awards for over 558 paper products meeting EPA minimum-content standards and totaling $140,516,351. • From August 1989 through July 1990, 95 percent of GPO's direct paper purchases met EPA minimum-content standards. • For the first six months of fiscal 1990, the overall average of EPA publica- tions/letterheads printed on paper meeting EPA minimum-content stan- dards exceeded 98 per- cent. Possible Guideline Revisions EPA is evaluating revi- sions to the recommended "waste paper" minimum- content standards for print- ing and writing papers. Among its options, EPA is considering combined waste paper and postconsumer- ------- content or de-inked waste paper content standards, and tightening the "waste paper" definition to further restrict the use of all paper mill waste in counting to- ward the minimum-content standards. g^^jUHHUPI^^HHM^HMmMM^HiMHMIMHMHM^H^HBHHBi^HH Further Information For further information and to obtain copies of the paper guideline, Procure- ment Guideline Advisories, and lists of mills and ven- dors of recycled paper, please contact EPA's pro- curement guidelines hotline at (703) 941-4452. Copies of GPO solicita- tions and JCP specifications may be obtained by writing to: Director, Material Man- agement Services, U.S. Government Printing Office, Room A332, Stop MMPP, Washington, D.C. 20401. Copies of GSA specifica- tions may be obtained by writing to: Business Service Center, U.S. General Ser- vices Administration, 26 Federal Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10278, or by calling (212) 264-1234. Definitions Mill broke means any paper waste generated in a paper mill prior to completion of the papermaking process (that is, those manufacturing operations up to and including the cutting and trimming of the paper machine reel into small rolls or rough sheets). It is usually returned directly to the pulping process. Mill broke is excluded from the definition of "waste paper." Postconsumer materials means any of the follow- ing: (1) Paper, paperboard, and fibrous wastes from retail stores, office buildings, homes, and so forth, after they have passed through their end usage as a con- sumer item, including: Used corrugated boxes, old newspapers, old magazines, mixed waste paper, tabulating cards, and used cordage; and (2) All paper, paperboard, and fibrous wastes that enter and are collected from municipal solid waste. "Waste paper" means any of the following: (1) All postconsumer materials and (2) Manufacturing and other wastes such as: 0 Dry paper and paperboard waste gener- ated after the completion of the paper making process, including: envelope cuttings, bindery trimmings, and other paper and paperboard waste, resulting from printing, cutting, forming, and other converting operations; bag, box, and carton manufacturing wastes; and butt rolls, mill wrappers, and rejected unused stock; and 0 Finished paper and paperboard from obsolete inventories of paper and paper board manufacturers, merchants, wholesalers, dealers, printers, converters, or others. ------- |