EPA COMPREHENSIVE
PROCUREMENT GUIDELINE PROGRAM
COMPREHENSIVE
PROCUREMENT
GUIDELINES
As part of its continuing program to promote the use of recovered
materials, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) peri-
odically expands the federal buy-recycled program by adding new
items to its Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG). EPA also
revises the designations for CPG items. The CPG designates items in the
following eight product categories: paper and paper products, vehicular
products, construction products, transportation products, park and rec-
reation products, landscaping products, nonpaper office products, and
miscellaneous products. EPA issued the original CPG regulations and the
non-regulatory Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN) in May
1995. RMANs provide purchasing recommendations and guidance for the
products designated in the CPG and are updated periodically to reflect
market conditions.
In November 1997, EPA updated the original CPG with the publication
of Federal Register (PR) notices for CPG II and RMAN II, covering an
additional 12 items. In January 2000, EPA issued CPG III and RMAN HI,
covering 18 new items. In April 2004, EPA issued CPG IV and RMAN IV,
covering seven new items. Updated RMANs for paper and paper products
were published in May 1996 and June 1998. Most recently, in September
2007, EPA issued CPG V and RMAN V, revising its compost designation
and adding fertilizer made from recovered organic materials to the land-
scaping products category. A total of 61 items has been designated. These
FR notices may be accessed at .
Why Does EPA Publish the CPG and RMANs?
©EPA
EPA530-F-07-044
www.epa.gov/osw
October 2007
To encourage the use of materials recovered through recycling, and
thereby help to reduce the amount of waste that must be disposed of,
Congress directed government agencies to increase their purchases of
recycled-content products. Section 6002 of the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA) requires EPA to designate products that can
be made with recovered materials and to recommend practices for buy-
ing these products. Once a product is designated, procuring agencies are
required to purchase it with the highest recovered material content level
practicable. More recently, Executive Order (E.O.) 13423, signed on
January 24, 2007, directs agencies to implement sustainable acquisition,
including the purchase of recycled-content products.
-------
Who Is Required to Buy Recycled Products?
Under RCRA section 6002 (a), the requirement to purchase an EPA-designated product containing
recovered materials applies to "procuring agencies" that spend more than $10,000 a year on that
item. Procuring agencies include all federal agencies, and any state or local agency or government
contractor that uses appropriated federal funds. For example, if a county agency spends more than
$10,000 a year on an EPA-designated item, and part of that money is from appropriated federal
funds, then the agency must purchase that item made from recovered materials.
The requirement to purchase EPA-designated products applies regardless of the acquisition mecha-
nism used (e.g., it applies to simplified acquisitions or purchases made with government purchase
cards). It also applies to the purchase of services in which the EPA-designated products could be
supplied or used.
CPG Categories and Designated Items
(Items in italics were designated in CPG V)
Paper and Paper Products
Vehicular Products
Engine Coolants
Rebuilt Vehicular Parts
Re-refined Lubricating Oils
Retread Tires
Construction Products
Building Insulation Products
Carpet Cushion
Cement and Concrete Containing Coal Fly Ash,
Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag,
Cenospheres, or Silica Fume
Consolidated and Reprocessed Latex Paint
Floor Tiles
Flow/able Fill
Laminated Paperboard
Modular Threshold Ramps
Nonpressure Pipe
Patio Blocks
Polyester Carpet
Railroad Grade Crossing Surfaces
Roofing Materials
Shower and Restroom Dividers and Partitions
Structural Fiberboard
Transportation Products
Channelizers
Delineators
Flexible Delineators
Parking Stops
Traffic Barricades
Traffic Cones
Park and Recreation Products
Park Benches and Picnic Tables
Plastic Fencing
Playground Equipment
Playground Surfaces
Running Tracks
Landscaping Products
Compost Made From Recovered Organic Materials
Fertilizer Made From Recovered Organic Materials
Garden and Soaker Hoses
Hydraulic Mulch
Lawn and Garden Edging
Plastic Lumber Landscaping Timbers and Posts
Nonpaper Office Products
Binders (plastic covered, chipboard, and pressboard)
Office Furniture
Office Recycling Containers
Office Waste Receptacles
Plastic Binders
Plastic Clipboards
Plastic Clip Portfolios
Plastic Desktop Accessories
Plastic Envelopes
Plastic File Folders
Plastic Presentation Folders
Plastic Trash Bags
Printer Ribbons
Toner Cartridges
Miscellaneous Products
Awards and Plaques
Bike Racks
Blasting Grit
Industrial Drums
Manual-grade Strapping
Mats
Pallets
Signage
Sorbents
CPG
PAGE 2
-------
Affirmative Procurement Program
RCRA section 6002 (i)
Affirmative procurement—or buying recycled—is an agency's strategy for
maximizing its purchases of EPA-designated items. The affirmative pro-
curement program also should ensure that designated items purchased are
composed of as much recovered materials as possible. Programs should be
flexible enough to incorporate newly designated items, and must consist of
the following components:
• A recovered materials preference program.
• An agency promotion program.
• Procedures for obtaining estimates and certifications of recovered mate-
rials content and, where appropriate, reasonably verifying those esti-
mates and certifications.*
• A program to monitor and annually review the effectiveness of the af-
firmative procurement program.
Additionally, within 1 year following EPA designation of an item, procur-
ing agencies must revise their specifications to require the use of recovered
materials to the maximum extent possible without jeopardizing the in-
tended end use of the item.
Green Purchasing Program
Green Purchasing Program (GPP): Under E.O. 13243, agencies are required to
develop and implement comprehensive green purchasing plans for purchas-
ing green products and services, including the EPA-designated recycled-con-
tent products. A GPP is an agency's strategy for maximizing its purchases
of green products and services, including EPA-designated items. The plan
should be developed in a manner that ensures that green products and servic-
es are purchased to the maximum extent practicable consistent with federal
procurement law.
Several statutes address elements of the federal green purchasing program,
including RCRA, the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (FS-
RIA), and the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and 2002 (EPAct). Rather than ad-
dressing these requirements separately, the Office of Management and Bud-
get and the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE) require
agencies to develop a comprehensive GPP to address acquisition of prod-
ucts and services. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy, OFEE, and
EPA believe that developing a single GPP will substantially reduce procur-
ing agencies' administrative burdens under RCRA, FSRIA, and EPAct that
result from item designations. In addition, CPG background documents
and supporting analyses to each CPG update include detailed guidance on
establishing affirmative procurement programs. See page 6 for information
on accessing these and other helpful resources.
* The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requires standard contract language to obtain estimates, certifications, and veri-
fications of recovered materials content of products provided under a contract. See page 5 of this guide for more information
on the FAR.
-------
Preference Program
A preference program is the system by which an agency implements its
stated preference for purchasing products containing recovered materials.
RCRA identifies three options for preference programs:
• Minimum Content Standards specify the minimum amount of recovered
materials that designated items should contain. EPA recommends ranges of re-
covered materials content that are currently available, and procuring agencies
should establish their own standards based on these ranges.
• Case-by-Case Policy Development is used when a procuring agency determines
that minimum content standards are inappropriate for a specific procurement
action. This option allows the procuring agency to establish a separate recov-
ered materials content requirement for the specific procurement action, while
still enabling the agency to procure the designated product with the highest
amount of recovered materials practicable.
• Substantially Equivalent Approaches, such as establishing service contracts for
product remanufacturing, are used when minimum content standards are inap-
propriate. For example, procuring agencies may establish service contracts for
remanufacturing toner cartridges.
Promotion Program
Agencies must actively advertise their desire to buy recycled-content
products, both within their organizations and to product vendors. Inter-
nal promotion usually is a broad-based employee education and outreach
program that affirms an agency's procurement policy through advertising,
workshops, agency newsletters, and technical and staff manuals. Examples
of external promotion to suppliers include: publishing articles in trade
journals,- participating in vendor shows or trade fairs; placing statements
in bid solicitations; discussing an agency's procurement policy at bidders'
conferences; and vising agency contract forecasts and FedBizOps synopses
to alert contractors to recycled-content product requirements.
CPG
PAGE
-------
What Are the Estimation, Certification, Verification, and
Monitoring?
Agencies should use standard contract provisions to estimate, certify, and, where appropriate, rea-
sonably verify the recovered materials content in a product procured by an agency. Programs also
must be monitored and tracked to ensure that they are fulfilling their requirements to purchase
items composed of recovered materials. The E.O. 13423 implementing instructions require agen-
cies to report compliance annually to the Federal Environmental Executive (FEE).
May an Agency Purchase CPG Items That Do Not Contain Recov-
ered Materials?
Agencies may elect not to purchase designated items containing recovered materials when the cost
is unreasonable, inadequate competition exists, items are not available within a reasonable period
of time, or items do not meet reasonable performance specifications.
Does the FAR Address Purchasing of Products Designated in
the CPG?
Under RCRA section 6002, purchasing of EPA-designated items must be consistent with other fed-
eral procurement requirements. The FAR is the primary regulation used by federal executive agen-
cies in their acquisition of supplies and services. On August 22, 1997, a final rule was published
in the FR (62 FR 44809) amending the FAR to reflect the federal government's preference for the
acquisition of recycled-content, energy-efficient, biobased, and environmentally preferable prod-
ucts and services and to incorporate the requirements of RCRA section 6002. These FAR revisions
included solicitation provisions, clauses for obtaining certifications and estimates of recovered ma-
terials content from contractors, and a requirement that agencies establish an affirmative procure-
ment program for EPA-designated items. Further FAR revisions are pending, including a revision
clarifying that the requirements to purchase EPA-designated items apply to services contracts and
construction contracts. The FAR can be accessed electronically at ; then select
the section that includes Part 23 or .
What Is the Difference Between Items Designated in the CPG and
Environmentally Preferable Products?
All CPG products are required to have recovered-content material. Recovered-content material is
one of a number of environmentally preferable attributes products may have. E.O. 13423 directs
agencies to purchase a range of green products and services, including recycled-content products
and environmentally preferable products and services. Environmentally preferable is defined in the
March 28, 2007 E.O. 13423 Implementing Instructions as products or services "that have a lesser or
reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or
services that serve the same purpose." The criteria for environmentally preferable products include
multiple attributes such as energy use; conservation of resources; impacts on air, water, and land;
and use of toxic or hazardous constituents. While all recycled-content products are green products,
they might not be as environmentally preferable as others in a given situation where an agency has
a functional need emphasizing a different energy or environmental attribute, such as no volatile
organic compound content. However, recovered-content products can have additional environmen-
tally preferable attributes.
CPG
PAGE 5
-------
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. Links to all of the CPG
and RMAN FR notices are available on the Web
site at .
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.
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP):
. 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 perfor-
mance in purchasing decision-making, and posts
case studies of successful pilot projects in both
the public and private sectors.
Other Government
Sources
Background Document for the Final CPG V and
Final RMAN V: . This document contains a
summary of all supporting analyses used by EPA
to issue the final CPG V and final RMAN V.
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.
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 order-
ing system, and order any GSA product, visit
.
CPG
PAGE 0
------- |