2007
Buy-Recycled Series
TRANSPORTATION PRODUCTS
COMPREHENSIVE
PROCUREMENT
GUIDELINES
TRANSPORTATION
The road is clear for buy-
ing recycled-content
products, and many
agencies are moving into high
gear! Transportation officials
around the country are report-
ing that recycled-content safety
cones, traffic barricades, traf-
fie control devices, and
parking stops deliver
high performance and
cut installation and
maintenance costs.
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-07-041
www.epa.gov/osw
October 2007
T 1
To make it easier to
i buy recycled, the U.S.
Environmental Protec-
tion Agency (EPA) pe-
riodically updates the
Comprehensive Pro-
j curement Guidelines
J (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 transporta-
tion 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-com-
petitive 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 designat-
ed 19 new products (including traffic bar-
ricades and traffic cones) and incorporated
five previously designated items in eight
product categories. The first CPG update
(CPG II) was published in November 1997
and designated an additional 12 items, in-
cluding parking stops and traffic control de-
vices. A second CPG update (CPG III) was
published in January 2000 and designated
an additional 18 items. A third CPG update
(CPG IV) was published in April 2004 and
designated seven new products. The fourth
CPG update (CPG V), published in Sep-
tember 2007, designated one new item and
revised another designation. None of the
last three updates designated any transpor-
tation products. For more information, visit
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How Do I Purchase Recycled-
Content Transportation Products?
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 trans-
portation products, as shown in the table 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
selecting "Supplier Database." See the last
section of this resource guide for other helpful
resources.
EPA's Recommended Content Levels for Transportation Products
TRANSPORTATION
PRODUCT2
Traffic Cones
Traffic Barricades
Parking Stops
MATERIAL RECOVERED
Plastic (Polyvinyl Chloride
[PVC] and Low-density
Polyethylene [LDPE])
Crumb Rubber
Plastic (High-density
Polyethylene [HDPE], LDPE,
Polyethylene Terephthalate
[PET])
Steel4
Fiberglass
Plastic and/or Rubber
Concrete Containing Coal
Fly Ash
POST-CONSUMER
RECOVERED
CONTENT3
80-100%
16%
67%
Generally, 20-30% but
could be up to 40%.
When used as a partial
cement replacement
as an admixture in
concrete, 15%.
TOTAL
RECOVERED
CONTENT3
50-100%
50-100%
100%
25-30%
100%
100%
100%
Concrete Containing Ground
Granulated Blast Furnace
(GGBF) Slag
25-70%
TRANSPORTATION PRODUCTS
PAGE 3
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TRANSPORTATION
PRODUCT2
Traffic Control
Devices:
Channelizers
Delineators
MATERIAL RECOVERED
Plastic
Rubber (base only)
Plastic
Rubber (base only)
Steel (base only)4
Flexible Delineators Plastic PET
POST-CONSUMER
RECOVERED
CONTENT3
25-90%
100%
25-90%
100%
16%
67%
25-85%
TOTAL
RECOVERED
CONTENT3
25-30%
100%
Transportation products containing recovered materials must conform to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices used by the Federal Highway Ad-
ministration, as well as other applicable federal requirements and specifications.
EPAs recommendations do not preclude procuring agencies from purchasing transportation products manufactured using other materials. EPA simply recom-
mends that procuring agencies, when purchasing transportation products designated in the procurement guidelines, purchase these products containing
recovered materials.
Content levels are based on the dry weight of the raw materials, exclusive of any additives such as adhesives, binders, or coloring agents.
The recommended recovered materials content level for steel in this table reflects the fact that die designated items can be made from steel manufactured
from either a Basic Oxygen Furnace (EOF) or an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF). Steel from the EOF process contains 25—30 percent total recovered materials, of
which 16 percent is post-consumer steel. Steel from the EAF process contains a total of 100 percent recovered steel, of which 67 percent is post-consumer.
Key Terms
Channelizers: Channelizers are barrels or drums that direct traffic around areas of road repair and con-
struction. Street maintenance agencies and construction contractors use chamielizers on construction
sites, medians, on/off ramps, mountainous terrain, and areas where fog and haze are common. Chan-
nelizers are designed and colored to be highly visible and can be constructed from recovered HDPE and
rubber. The bases of the drums are weighted to provide stability and often are made from used tires.
Delineators: Delineators are temporary pavement markers that come in many shapes, sizes, and
compositions. They are manufactured primarily from recovered and post-consumer HDPE. Delineator
bases are either steel stakes that can be driven into the ground or rubber to support the delineator on
the road surface.
Flexible Delineators: These products come in the form of stakes and are driven into the ground. The
product is flexible enough so that vehicles can strike them without causing damage to the vehicle or
the delineator. They are used at golf courses, airports, military bases, shopping centers, and recre-
ation areas.
Parking Stops: Commonly found in parking lots, parking stops are used to mark parking spaces and
keep vehicles from rolling beyond a designated parking area.
Traffic Barricades: Traffic barricades are used to redirect or restrict traffic in areas of highway con-
struction or repair. They are typically made from wood, steel, plastic, or a combination of these mate-
rials. Many manufacturers have switched to the use of recycled materials in both the supporting frame
and rails of the barricades.
Traffic Cones: Traffic cones are used to mark a road hazard or direct traffic. In general, both recovered-
and post-coiisumer-content plastics are used in the upper component of the cones, and crumb rubber
and/or plastics are used in the base.
TRANSPORTATION PRODUCTS
PAGE 4
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How Can I Get More Information?
T
his resource guide and the following publica-
tions 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 executive agencies in purchasing
environmentally preferable products and ser-
vices. The site explains EPA's proposed guiding
principles for including environmental perfor-
mance in purchasing decision-making, and posts
case studies 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: . 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.
Federal Register (FR): and . Notices promulgat-
ing CPG I (60 FR 21370) and RMAN I (60 FR
213867), May 1, 1995. FR notices promulgat-
ing 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 promulgat-
ing CPG IV (69 FR 24028) and RMAN IV (69 FR
24039), April 30, 2004. FR notices promulgat-
ing 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
GSA guide is designed to help procurement
officials identify environmentally preferable
products and services. It contains nearly
3,000 items, including many recycled-con-
tent products.
New Item Introductory Schedule: This GSA
schedule lists parking stops that contain re-
covered rubber materials. For more informa-
tion, contact GSA.
TRANSPORTATION PRODUCTS
PAGE 5
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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 Executive Order 13101:
. This guide
provides detailed information on the require-
ments of E.O. 13101, which established a
process for amending the CPG and issuing
RMANs. E.O. 13101 preceded E.O. 13423
and established 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.
Federal Trade Commission: . The Federal Trade
Commission issued Guides for the Use of Envi-
ronmental Marketing Claims in May 1998.
California Recycled-Content Product Database:
. This site contains
information on reasons to buy recycled-content
products and how to procure them, and provides
access to a database with information on prod-
ucts, as well as manufacturers, distributors, repro-
cessors, mills, and converters across the country.
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.
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 their day-to-day operations. The
Alliance offers educational materials, a quarterly
newsletter, and product-specific guides. Public
purchasing entities can join for free.
Official Recycled Products Guide: . This
directory lists more than 5,000 manufacturers
and distributors of recycled-content products, in-
cluding those for traffic cones, traffic barricades,
traffic control devices, and parking stops.
Recycled Plastic Products Source Book: . This booklet lists
more than 1,400 plastic products from approxi-
mately 300 manufacturers, including parking
stops and traffic control devices.
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. 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.
TRANSPORTATION PRODUCTS
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