Buy-Recycled Series
LANDSCAPING PRODUCTS
COMPREHENSIVE
PROCUREMENT
GUIDELINES
It might be. easier than you
think to turn garbage into
gardens! Whether you are a
park manager, professional land-
scaper, or tend a small garden
bed, you will find recycled-con-
tent products offer a quick, effec-
tive, and affordable way to make
your grounds green.
LANDSCAPING
Buying recycled products...
...conserves natural resources
...saves energy
...reduces solid waste
...reduces air and water pollutants
...reduces greenhouse gases
...creates new jobs
SEPA
EPA530-F-07-037
www.epa.gov/osw
October 2007
To make it easier to
buy recycled, the U.S.
Environmental Protec-
tion Agency (EPA) pe-
riodically updates the
Comprehensive Pro-
curement Guidelines
(CPG). Through the
CPG, EPA designates
items that must con-
tain recycled materials
when purchased with
appropriated federal
funds by federal, state,
and local agencies, or
by government contrac-
tors. Several landscap-
ing products are among
these items. EPA's re-
search shows that the
items designated in the
CPG are of high quality,
widely available, and
cost-competitive with
virgin products. EPA
also issues nonregula-
tory companion guidance—the
Recovered Materials Advisory
Notice (RMAN)—that recom-
mends levels of recycled con-
tent for these items.
Why Buy Recycled?
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
of three steps in the recycling
process. The second step oc-
curs when companies use these
recyclables to manufacture new
products. The third step comes
when you purchase products
made from recovered materials.
Buying recycled products re-
sults in many environmental
benefits. It supports local re-
cycling programs by creating
markets for the collected mate-
rials that are processed and used
to manufacture new products.
This creates jobs and helps
strengthen the economy; con-
serves natural resources; saves
energy; and reduces solid waste,
air and water pollutants, and
greenhouse gases that contrib-
ute to global warming.
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What Is CPG?
The Resource Conservation and Re-
covery Act (RCRA) requires procur-
ing agencies to buy recycled-content
products designated by EPA in the CPG.
Issued in May 1995, the first CPG desig-
nated 19 new products (including hydraulic
mulch) and incorporated five previously
designated items in eight product catego-
ries. The first CPG update (CPG II) was
published in November 1997 and desig-
nated an additional 12 items, including
garden and soaker hoses, as well as lawn
and garden edging. A second CPG update
(CPG III) was published in January 2000 and
designated an additional 18 items, includ-
ing food waste compost and plastic lumber
landscaping timbers and posts. The third
CPG update (CPG IV), published in April
2004, designated seven new products but
no additional landscaping products. Most
recently, a fourth CPG update (CPG V),
published in September 2007, revised the
compost designation and added fertilizer
made from recovered organic materials to
the landscaping products category. For more
information, visit .
Procuring agencies include all federal agen-
cies, and any state or local government
agencies or government contractors that
use 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-con-
tent level practicable. The CPG also applies
to lease contracts covering designated items.
Executive Order (E.G.) 13423 and the Fed-
eral Acquisition Regulation also call for an
increase in the federal government's use of
recycled-content and environmentally pref-
erable products.
Once any new items are designated in a pub-
lished CPG update, an agency has 1 year to
develop an affirmative procurement program
(or revise an existing one) to include these
new items. In previous years, agencies have
had to revise their affirmative procurement
programs to incorporate items such as hy-
draulic mulch, compost, garden and soaker
hoses, lawn and garden edging, and plastic
lumber landscaping timbers and posts. Be-
cause CPG V designated new landscaping
products, agencies are required to revise the
landscaping portion of their affirmative pro-
curement program by September 14, 2008.
The CPG acknowledges that specific cir-
cumstances might arise that preclude the
purchase of products made with recovered
materials. Your agency may purchase des-
ignated items that do not contain recov-
ered 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 ob-
taining the item,- or 4) the recycled-content
item does not meet the agency's reasonable
performance specifications.
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LANDSCAPING PRODUCTS
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How Do I Purchase Recycled-
Content Landscaping Products?
The EPA issues purchasing guidance in
RMANs, which are designed to make it
as easy as possible to buy the designated
items. The RMANs recommend recycled-con-
tent levels to look for when purchasing land-
scaping 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. The RMANs also provide other
purchasing guidance. Please refer to for more information on
individual products.
Rather than specifying just one level of recycled
content, the RMANs recommend ranges that
reflect actual market conditions. The recom-
mendations are based on market research iden-
tifying recycled-content products that are com-
mercially available, are competitively priced,
and meet buyers' quality standards.
Access EPA's online recycled-content products
database by going to and se-
lecting "Supplier Database." See the last section
of this resource guide for other helpful resources.
EPA's Recommended Content Levels for Landscaping Products
LANDSCAPING
PRODUCT
MATERIAL RECOVERED
POST-CONSUMER
RECOVERED
Hydraulic Mulch Paper
Compost Made
from Recovered
Organic Materials
Fertilizer Made
from Recovered
Organic Materials
Garden Hose
Soaker Hose
Lawn and Garden
Edging
Landscaping
Timbers and
Posts
Wood/Paper
Food Waste, Yard Trimmings, Manure, Biosolids,
and Other Recovered Organic Materials
Alfalfa Meal, Blood Meal, Cottonseed Meal,
Feather Meal, Fish Meal, Meat and Bone Meal,
Poultry Manure/Litter, Soybean Meal, Wood
Ash, and Other Recovered Organic Materials
Rubber and/or Plastic
Rubber and/or Plastic
Rubber and/or Plastic
High-density Polyethylene (HDPE)
Mixed Plastic/Sawdust
HDPE/Fiberglass
Other Mixed Resins
RECOVERED
CONTENT
100%
100%
See Endiiote 2 See Endnote 2
See Endnote 2 See Endnote 2
60-65%
60-70%
30-100%
25-50%
50%
75%
50-100%
30-100%
75-100%
100%
95%
95-100%
1 EPAs recommendations do not preclude procuring agencies from purchasing landscaping products manufactured using other materials. EPA simply recommends that procuring
agencies, when purchasing landscaping products designated in the procurement guidelines, purchase these products containing recovered materials.
2 EPA is not recommending any content ranges for either compost or fertilizer since both are generally made exclusively from recovered materials. EPA recommends that procuring
agencies purchase or use mature compost made from recovered organic materials in such applications as landscaping, seeding of grass or other plants on roadsides and embank-
ments, as nutritious mulch under trees and shrubs, and in erosion control and soil reclamation. EPA turther recommends implementing a composting system for these materials
when agencies have an adequate volume and sufficient space.
LANDSCAPING PRODUCTS
PAGE 3
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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 residen-
tial 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 strength-
ens demand for wood waste and the newspaper
you recycle in your local recycling program.
Strengthening the Soil: Compost
and Fertilizer Made from
Recovered Organic Materials
Used frequently in both commercial and
residential landscaping, compost and fertilizer
made from recovered organic materials turn
the organic waste we might otherwise throw
away—such as grass, leaves, twigs, fruit and
vegetable trimmings, biosolids and manure—
into an effective soil amendment.
There is a significant overlap in the type of re-
covered organic materials that can go into com-
post and fertilizer made from recovered organic
materials. Their use is similar in most circum-
stances. However, to differentiate between the
two: fertilizer's intended use is to add certain
nutrients into the soil, compost has many ad-
ditional uses.
Fertilizers typically provide, in varying propor-
tions, the three major plant nutrients (nitrogen,
phosphorus, and potassium) and the secondary
plant nutrients (calcium, sulfur, magnesium).
Fertilizer changes the chemical state of the soil
adjacent to plant roots, and the plants draw the
feed—whether applied as a liquid or as a dry
fertilizer—into the plant with water needed by
the plant.
Compost affects the nutritional potential
of the root environment by adding nutrient
storage capacity. It attracts beneficial organ-
isms that make fertilizer more available to the
plant, and moderates the acidity or alkalinity
of the soil. Worked in, it improves the per-
meability of the soil to water, improves soil
granulation and fosters better root growth, and
helps to add pore space within the soil struc-
ture for better oxygenation and water storage.
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 compost-
ing facilities from 651 in 1988 to 3,800 in 2000,
the market is clearly growing for this valuable
product. Even so, more yard trimmings and food
waste still could be composted. In 2000, these
valuable organic materials constituted more
than 23 percent of our national waste stream,
with 53.6 million tons generated, of which only
about 30 percent of that amount (16.5 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, noth-
ing is more important than adequate water-
ing. The questions of how much and how
often to water are a matter of local climactic
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 de-
liver water to meet your garden's needs, they
also will help create new uses for old tires
and recycled plastics from items such as dis-
carded cable wires and old traffic cones.
LANDSCAPING PRODUCTS
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• Building a Home for the
Garden: Landscaping Timbers
and Posts (Plastic Lumber)
To create attractive and effective landscaping, you
will 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 are beautifying a park, high-
way, 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 with more than a dozen
projects using 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 are 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
post-consumer recycled-content edging, which
is made from scrap rubber, milk jugs, and other
plastic containers.
How Can I Get More Information?
T
his resource guide and the following resourc-
es on buying recycled-content products can
be accessed on the Internet.
Information Available
From EPA
The CPG: . This site de-
scribes EPA's effort to facilitate the procurement
of products containing recovered materials,
including information on CPG and RMANs, and
an online database of manufacturers and suppli-
ers of designated items.
EPA CPG Program: . EPA's EPP program encour-
ages and assists federal agencies in purchasing
environmentally preferable products and services.
The site explains EPA's proposed guiding princi-
ples for including environmental performance in
purchasing decision-making, and posts case stud-
ies of successful pilot projects in both the public
and private sectors.
Jobs Through Recycling: .
EPA's Jobs Through Recycling program stimulates
economic growth and recycling market develop-
ment 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.
Municipal Solid Waste: .
This site includes information on recycling,
source reduction, and reuse. It contains state
municipal solid waste data and the latest facts
and figures on waste generation and disposal.
WasteWise: . Waste-
Wise is a free, voluntary EPA program through
which organizations eliminate costly municipal
solid waste, benefittiiig 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.
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Composting Publications: . This Web page outlines
EPA's regulations and requirements for the
production, use, and application of biosolids.
Federal Register (FR): and . Notices promulgat-
ing CPG I (60 FR 21370) and RMAN I (60 FR
21386), May 1, 1995. FR notices promulgating
CPG II (62 FR 60961) and RMAN II (62 FR
60975), November 13, 1997. FR notices promul-
gating CPG III (65 FR 3070) and RMAN III (65
FR 3082), January 19, 2000. FR notices promul-
gating CPG IV (69 FR 24028) and RMAN IV (69
FR 24039), April 30, 2004. FR notices promul-
gating CPG V (72 FR 52475) and RMAN V (72
FR 52561), September 14, 2007.
Other Government
Sources
U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
Environmental Products Overview: . GSA offers a variety of
environmental products and services to its federal
customers to assist them in their efforts to com-
ply with procurement responsibilities outlined in
federal environmental laws and regulations. This
overview contains information about environ-
mentally oriented products and services in the
Federal Supply Service Supply System. To access
GSA Advantage!, GSA's Internet-based ordering
system, and order any GSA product, visit .
Environmental Products Guide: . This
guide contains more than 1,500 paper and pa-
per products containing recovered materials.
Office of the Federal Environmental Executive
(OFEE): . OFEE's mission is to
advocate, coordinate, and assist environmental
efforts of the federal community in waste preven-
tion, recycling, affirmative procurement of CPG
items, and the acquisition of recycled and envi-
ronmentally preferable products and services.
Greening the Government: A Guide to
Implementing E.O. 13101: . This guide provides
detailed information on the requirements
of E.O. 13101, which established a process
for amending the CPG and issuing RMANs.
E.O. 13101 preceded E.O. 13423 and estab-
lished many requirements and definitions
that are still in effect. Updated in February
2001, the E.O. is available from OFEE at
.
Executive Order 13423: Strengthening
Federal Environmental, Energy, and Trans-
portation Management: . Published in January
2007, this Order replaced E.O. 13101 and
requires federal agencies to purchase green
products and services, including recycled-
content products, energy- and water-efficient
products, biobased products, and environ-
mentally preferable products and services.
Although E.O. 13423 revoked E.O. 13101,
EPA continues to follow certain procedures
of E.O. 13101 since they are consistent with
the requirements of RCRA 6002 (e).
Federal Green Purchasing Program: . This program assists
federal agencies to promote the acquisition
of recycled-content, environmentally pref-
erable, and biobased products; non-ozone
depleting substances; and products contain-
ing alternatives to certain priority chemicals.
Training tools and other green purchasing
guidance are available.
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U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Na-
tional Organic Program: . This site discusses USDA
regulations for producing organic products,
which prohibit the use of biosolids in organic
production.
Federal Trade Commission: . The Federal Trade
Commission issued Guides for the Use of Envi-
ronmental Marketing Claims in May 1998.
FedCenter.gov: . FedCenter
is the federal government's home for comprehen-
sive environmental stewardship and compliance
assistance information.
California Recycled-Content Product Database:
. This site contains
information on reasons to buy recycled-content
products and how to procure them, and pro-
vides 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 Pro-
gram: . This site describes the tools and tech-
niques developed by King County, Washington,
agencies for purchasing recycled products.
Recycling Data Network Information Services:
. This
commercial Web site provides access, on a sub-
scription basis, to a recycled-content products
database of over 4,500 listings in 700 product
classifications. The product database is consid-
ered to be the largest of its kind.
Recycled Plastic Products Source Book: . This booklet lists
more than 1,400 plastic products from approxi-
mately 300 manufacturers.
The U.S. Composting Council (USCC): . USCC defines and
develops industry-wide standards for composts
made from recovered organic materials. USCC
offers educational materials and workshops on
composting.
Organic Materials Review Institute: . Green Seal is
a national nonprofit labeling organization that
sets environmental standards, including those
for garden hoses, and awards a Green Seal of Ap-
proval to products meeting those standards.
Additional Sources
Buy Recycled Business Alliance: . The Alliance includes over 3,200
companies and organizations committed to
increasing the use of recycled-content products
and materials in the day-to-day operations. The
Alliance offers educational materials, a quarterly
newsletter, and product-specific guides. Public
purchasing entities can join for free.
The Official Recycled Products Guide: .
This directory lists more than 5,000 manufactur-
ers and distributors of recycled-content products.
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LANDSCAPING PRODUCTS
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