Buy-Recycled Series
                       MISCELLANEOUS  PRODUCTS
COMPREHENSIVE
 PROCUREMENT
   GUIDELINES
M
(MISCELLANEOUS
        ore and more procure-
        ment officials are
        realizing that buying
recycled is an easy, cost-effi-
cient, and earth-friendly alter-
native. Today's products made
from materials recovered for
recycling offer the strength,
      durability, and perfor-
      mance equivalent to
      those made from virgin
      materials. That is why
      businesses and public
      sector buyers across the
      country are buying and
      using recycled-content
      products.
 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-07-043
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 Procure-
      ment Guidelines (CPG).
      Through the CPG, EPA
      designates items that
      must contain recycled
      materials when pur-
      chased with appropri-
      ated federal funds by
      federal, state, and local
      agencies, or by govern-
      ment contractors. Sever-
      al miscellaneous prod-
      ucts are among these
items. These are items that do
not correspond to any of the
other seven CPG product cat-
egories. 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 compan-
ion guidance—the Recovered
Materials Advisory Notice
(RMAN)—that recommends
levels of recycled content 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. Is-
sued in May 1995, the first CPG designat-
ed 19 new products and incorporated five
previously designated items in eight prod-
uct categories. The first CPG update (CPG
II) was published in November 1997 and
designated an additional 12 items, includ-
ing pallets. A second CPG update (CPG III)
was published in January 2000 and des-
ignated an additional 18  items, including
sorbents, awards and plaques, industrial
drums, mats, manual-grade strapping, and
signage. The third CPG update (CPG IV),
published in April 2004,  designated seven
new products, including bike racks and
blasting grit. The fourth  CPG update (CPG
V), published in September 2007, desig-
nated one new item and  revised another
designation, but did not  designate any new
miscellaneous products.  For more informa-
tion, 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 ap-
plies to lease contracts covering designated
items. Executive  Order (E.O.) 13423 and the
Federal Acquisition Regulation also call for
an increase in the federal government's use
of recycled-content and environmentally
preferable products.

Once any new items are designated in a
published CPG update, an agency has 1 year
to develop an affirmative procurement pro-
gram (or revise an existing one) to include
these new items. In previous years, agencies
have had to revise their affirmative procure-
ment programs to incorporate buy-recycled
requirements for items such as pallets,
sorbents, awards and plaques, industrial
drums, mats, manual-grade strapping, and
signage. Agencies must have revised their
affirmative procurement programs to in-
clude the new items designated in CPG IV
by April 30, 2005. This effort might have
involved reviewing specifications for these
items and eliminating provisions that pose
barriers to purchasing them with recycled
content (such as aesthetic requirements
unrelated to product performance).

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 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 ob-
taining the item,- or 4) the recycled-content
item does not meet the agency's reasonable
performance specifications.
                               MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTS
                                      PAGE 2

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How Do I  Purchase Recycled-
Content Miscellaneous Products?
     EPA issues purchasing guidance in
     RMANs, which are designed to make
     it as easy as possible to buy the des-
ignated items. The RMANs recommend re-
cycled-content levels to look for when pur-
chasing miscellaneous products, as shown
in the table below. Following the RMANs'
recommended levels will help ensure your
affirmative procurement program and stan-
dards 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 condi-
                     tions. The recommendations are based on
                     market research identifying recycled-con-
                     tent products that are commercially avail-
                     able, are competitively priced, and meet
                     buyers' quality standards.

                     Access EPA's online recycled-content prod-
                     ucts 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 Miscellaneous Products
  MISCELLANEOUS
     PRODUCT
 Awards and Plaques1
 Industrial Drums1
 Mats1
 Pallets1
  MATERIAL RECOVERED
Glass

Wood

Paper

Plastic and Plastic/Wood
Composite

Steel2

Plastic High-density
Polyethylene (HDPE)

Fiber (paper)

Rubber

Plastic

Rubber/Plastic Composite

Wood

Plastic

Thermoformed

Paperboard
POST-CONSUMER
  RECOVERED
  CONTENT
   75-100%


   40-100%

   50-100%


     16%

   30-100%


    100%

   75-100%

   10-100%

    100%

   95-100%

    100%

   25-50%

     50%
  TOTAL
RECOVERED
 CONTENT
   100%

   100%


 95-100%


  25-35%
 85-100%

   100%
                              MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTS
                                    PAGE 3

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    MISCELLANEOUS
        PRODUCT
 Signage1
 Sorbents1
 Manual-Grade
 Strapping1
    MATERIAL RECOVERED
Plastic3

Aluminum

Plastic Sign Posts/Supports3

Steel Sign Posts/Supports4

Paper

Textiles

Plastics

Wood5

Other Organics/
Multimaterials6
Polyester

Polypropylene

Steel4
POST-CONSUMER
   RECOVERED
    CONTENT
     80-100%

        25%

     80-100%

        16%
        67%
     90-100%

     95-100%
      50-85%
                                                                                  16%
                                                                                  67%
    TOTAL
RECOVERED
 CONTENT
   25-30%
    100%
    100%
  25-100%

    100%

    100%



   10-40%

   25-30%
    100%
1  EPAS recommendations do not preclude procuring agencies from purchasing miscellaneous products manufactured using other materials. EPA simply recom-
  mends that procuring agencies, when purchasing miscellaneous products designated in the procurement guidelines, purchase these products containing
  recovered materials.
2  The recommended recovered materials content levels for steel in this table reflect the fact that the designated item is generally made from steel manufactured
  in a Basic Oxygen Furnace (EOF). Steel from the EOF process contains 25-30 percent total recovered steel, of which 16 percent is post-consumer steel.
3  Plastic signs and sign posts are recommended for nonroad applications only, such as, but not limited to, trailway signs in parks and directional/informational
  signs in buildings.
4  The recommended recovered materials content level for steel in this table reflects the fact that the designated items can be made from steel manufactured
  from either a 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.
5  "Wood" includes materials such as sawdust and lumber mill trimmings.
0  Examples of other organics include, but are not limited to, peanut hulls and corn stover. An example of multimaterial sorbents would include, but not be
  limited to, polymer and cellulose fiber combination.
7  The recommended recovered materials content levels for steel in this table reflect the fact that the designated item may contain steel manufactured in either
  a EOF or an EAF, or a combination of both. Steel from the EOF process contains 25-30 percent total recovered steel, of which 16 percent is post-consumer.
  Steel from the EAF process contains 100 percent total recovered steel, of which 67 percent is post-consumer. According to industry sources, blasting grit con-
  taining a combination of EOF and EAF steel would contain 25-85 percent total recovered steel, of which 16-67 percent would be post-consumer. Since there
  is no way of knowing which type of steel was used in the manufacture of the item, the post-consumer and total recovered material content ranges in this table
  encompass the whole range of possibilities, i.e., the use of EAF steel only EOF steel only, or a combination of the two.
                                                   MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTS
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How Can  I  Get  More Information?
T
his resource guide and the following publica-
tions on buying recycled-content products are
available 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 ser-
   vices. The site explains EPA's proposed guiding
   principles for including environmental per-
   formance in purchasing decision-making, and
   includes 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: .
   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, beiiefitting 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
promulgating 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
promulgating CPG III (65 FR 3070) and RMAN
III (65 FR 3082), January 19, 2000. FR notices
promulgating CPG IV (69 FR 24028) and RMAN
IV (69 FR 24039), April 30, 2004. FR notices
promulgating 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 .
                                     MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTS
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   Environmental Products Guide: . This
   guide is designed to help procurement of-
   ficials identify environmentally preferable
   products and services. It contains nearly
   3,000 items, including many recycled-con-
   tent products.

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:  . 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 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 techniques developed
by King County, Washington, agencies for pur-
chasing recycled products.
         Additional Sources
Buy Recycled Business Alliance: . The Alliance includes over 3,200
companies and organizations committed to
increasing their use of recycled-content prod-
ucts and materials in their day-to-day opera-
tions. The Alliance offers educational materi-
als, a quarterly newsletter, and product-specific
guides. Public purchasing entities can join for
free. For more information, contact the Nation-
al Recycling Coalition.

Official Recycled Products Guide: . This
directory lists more than 5,000 manufacturers
and distributors of recycled-content products.

Plastic Lumber Trade Association (PLTA):
. PLTA is a nonprofit
membership organization working to promote
the interests of the recycled plastic lumber
industry. Its work includes collaborating with
ASTM to set industry-wide standards for recy-
cled plastic lumber.

Recycled Plastic Products Source Book: . This booklet lists
more than 1,400 plastic products from approxi-
mately 300 manufacturers, including pallets.
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Product Information—industrial
Drums
• Reusable Industrial Packaging Association:
   . This association
   represents about 100 container recoiiditioners.

• The Society of the Plastics Industry: . This trade association
   represents the fourth largest manufacturing
   industry in the United States.


Product Information—Pallets
• National Wooden Pallet and Container Asso-
   ciation (NWPCA): . This
   international trade association represents manu-
   facturers, recyclers, and distributors of pallets,
   containers, and reels. NWPCA also developed
   the Uniform Standards for Wood Pallets as a
   resource for pallet users and suppliers.

• 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.
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                                              PAGE 7

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