Buy-Recycled Series
PARK & RECREATION
PRODUCTS
COMPREHENSIVE
PROCUREMENT
GUIDELINES
PARK & RECREATION
Buying recycled products...
...conserves natural resources
...saves energy
...reduces solid waste
...reduces air and water pollutants
...reduces greenhouse gases
...creates new jobs
Solid Waste and Emergency
Response (5305W)
Washington, DC 20460
EPA-530-F-04-016
www. epa. gov/osw
May 2004
Want to go the extra mile
for your community?
Buying recycled-content
playground equipment and other
recreational products is cost-effec-
tive, easy to do, and a good way to
keep our outdoors green. The same
goes for your community's beaches.
You can provide long-last-
ing protection for your sand
dunes using plastic fencing
made from recovered plas-
tics.
To make it easier to buy
recycled, the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) updates the
Comprehensive
Procurement Guidelines
(CPG) every 2 years.
Through the CPG, EPA des-
ignates items that must con-
tain recycled materials
when purchased with appro-
priated federal funds by fed-
eral, state, and local
agencies, or by government
contractors. Several park
and recreation products are
among these items. EPA's
research shows that the items desig-
nated in the CPG are of high quali-
ty, widely available, and
cost-competitive with virgin prod-
ucts. EPA also issues nonregulatory
companion guidance—the
Recovered Materials Advisory
Notice (RMAN)—that recommends
levels of recycled content for these
items.
Why Buy Recycled?
Recycling is more than just drop-
ping off your cans, bottles, and
newspapers at the curb or at a local
collection facility. Diverting recy-
clables from the waste stream is
only the first of three steps in the
recycling process. The second step
occurs when companies use these
recyclables to manufacture new
products. The third step comes
when you purchase products made
from recovered materials. That's
how we close the loop.
Buying recycled products results in
many environmental benefits. It
supports local recycling programs
by creating markets for the collect-
ed materials that are processed and
used to manufacture new products.
This creates jobs and helps
strengthen the economy; conserves
natural resources; saves energy; and
reduces solid waste, air and water
pollutants, and greenhouse gases
that contribute to global warming.
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What is CPG?
The Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act requires procuring agencies to buy
recycled-content products designated by
EPA in the CPG. Issued in May 1995, the first
CPG designated 19 new products (including
playground surfaces and running tracks) 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 products,
including plastic fencing. A second CPG
update (CPG III) was published in January
2000 and designated an additional 18 products,
including park benches, picnic tables, and
playground equipment. The third CPG update
(CPG IV) was published in April 2004, desig-
nating seven new products, but no new park
and recreation products were designated.
Procuring agencies include all federal agencies,
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, yo
are required to purchase it with the highest
recycled-content level practicable. The CP
also applies to lease contracts covering desig-
nated items. Executive Order 13101 and the
Federal Acquisition Regulation also call for an
increase in the federal government's use of
recycled-content and environmentally prefer-
able 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 buy-recycled requirements for
items such as playground surfaces, running
tracks, plastic fencing, park benches, picnic
tables, and playground equipment. This effort
might involve reviewing specifications for those
products and eliminating provisions that pose
barriers to procuring them with recycled con-
tent (such as aesthetic requirements unrelated
to product performance). Since CPG IV desig-
nates no new park and recreation products,
agencies are not required to revise this portion
of their affirmative procurement program.
The CPG acknowledges that specific circum-
stances might arise that preclude the purchase
of products made with recovered materials.
Your agency may purchase designated items
that do not contain recovered materials if it
determines that: 1) the price of a given desig-
nated item made with recovered materials is
unreasonably high, 2) there is inadequate com-
petition (not enough sources of supply), 3)
unusual and unreasonable delays would result
from obtaining the item, or 4) the recycled-
content item does not meet an agency's rea-
sonable performance specifications.
PARK & RECREATION PRODUCTS
PAGE 2
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How Do I Purchase Recycled-Content
Park & Recreation 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-content levels to
look for when purchasing park and recreation
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 recommen-
dations are based on market research identifying
recycled-content products that are commercially
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 sec-
tion of this fact sheet for other helpful resources.
EPA's Recommended Content Levels for Park & Recreation Products
PARK & RECREATION I MATERIAL
PRODUCT1 I
Park Benches & Picnic
Tables:
Plastic Fencing for
Specified Uses5
Playground Equipment
Plastic3
Plastic
Composites
Aluminum
Concrete
Steel4
Plastic
Plastic3
Plastic
Composites
Steel4
POSTCONSUMER
RECOVERED
CONTENT2
90-100%
50-100%
25%
16%
67%
60-100%
90-100%
50-75%
16%
67%
TOTAL
RECOVERED
CONTENT2
100%
100%
15-40%
25-30%
100%
90-100%
100%
95-100%
25-30%
100%
PARK & RECREATION PRODUCTS
PAGE 3
Continued on next page
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PARK & RECREATION
PRODUCT1
Playground Surfaces
Running Tracks
MATERIAL
Plastic or Rubber
Plastic or Rubber
POSTCONSUMER
RECOVERED
CONTENT2
90-100%
90-100%
TOTAL
RECOVERED
CONTENT2
1 EPA's recommendations do not preclude a procuring agency from purchasing these items manufactured from another material. They simply
require that a procuring agency purchase these items made with recovered materials when these items meet applicable specifications and perfor-
mance requirements. Federal agency installations of these products must comply with applicable state or local construction codes, as well as
standards set by the Consumer Safety Commission and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
2 The recommended recovered materials content levels are based on the dry weight of the raw materials, exclusive of any additives such as adhe-
sives, binders, or coloring agents.
3 "Plastic" includes both single and mixed plastic resins. Park benches and picnic tables made with recovered plastic may also contain other recov-
ered materials, such as sawdust, wood, or fiberglass. The percentage of these materials contained in the product would also count toward the
recovered materials content level of the item.
4 The recommended recovered materials content level for steel in this table reflect the fact that the designated items can be made from steel man-
ufactured from either a Basic Oxygen Furnace (EOF) or an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF). Steel from the EOF process contains 25-30% total recov-
ered materials, of which 16% is postconsumer steel. Steel from the EAF process contains a total of 100% recovered steel, of which 67% is
postconsumer.
5 Designation includes fencing containing recovered plastic for use in controlling snow or sand drifting and as a warning/safety barrier in con-
struction or other applications.
How Can I Get More Information?
T
Information Available
From EPA
his fact sheet and the following publications on
buying recycled-content products can be accessed
on the Internet.
EPA Amends Comprehensive Procurement
Guidelines (CPG). This fact sheet provides general
information about the CPG and the development of
affirmative procurement programs. See
.
Federal Register (FR) notices promulgating CPG I (60
FR 21370/EPA530-Z-95-006) and RMAN I (60 FR
21386/EPA530-Z-95-007), May 1, 1995. FR notices
promulgating CPG II (62 FR 60961/EPA530-Z-97-
009) and RMAN II (62 FR 60975/EPA530-Z-97-010),
November 13, 1997. FR notices promulgating CPG
III (65 FR 3070) and RMAN m (65 FR 3082), January
19, 2000. FR notices promulgating CPG IV (69 FR
24028) and RMAN IV (69 FR 24039), April 30, 2004.
See .
PARK & RECREATION PRODUCTS
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Other Sources of
Information
Buy Recycled Business Alliance. The Alliance
includes over 3,200 companies and organizations
committed to increasing their use of recycled-con-
tent products and materials in their day-to-day oper-
ations. The Alliance offers educational materials,
a quarterly newsletter, and product-specific guides.
Public purchasing entities can join for free. For more
information, contact the National Recycling
Coalition, 1325 G Street, NW., Suite 1025,
Washington, DC 20005-3104. Phone: 202 347-0450.
Fax: 202 347-0449. Web site: .
Park and Outdoor Recreational Equipment,
Federal Supply Schedule Group 78, Part 1,
Schedule C, Classes 7830. Lists a variety of park
and recreation products available for purchase.
Environmental Products Guide. This guide is
designed to help procurement officials identify
environmentally preferable products and ser-
vices. It contains nearly 3,000 items, including
many recycled-content products.
National Association of State Purchasing Officials
(NASPO): . NASPO's Internet-
based Database of Recycled Commodities (DRC)
includes information from states on their recycled
product procurement. Data include product distribu-
tors, manufacturers, brand names, recycled and post-
consumer content, ENERGY STAR® rating, units
purchased, unit of measurement, unit price, and
type of procurement. The database was developed
and is maintained by the Florida Department of
Management Services. To use the database, visit
.
Greening the Government: A Guide to Implementing
Executive Order 13101. This guide provides detailed
information on the requirements of Executive Order
13101 and the benefits of achieving compliance.
Updated in February 2001, it is available from the
Office of the Federal Environmental Executive.
Phone: 202 564-1297. Fax: 202 564-1393. Web site:
. Email: task_force@ofee.gov. An
electronic version of the document can be accessed
at .
Official Recycled Products Guide. This directory
lists more than 5,000 manufacturers and distributors
of recycled-content products. Contact: Recycling
Data Management Corporation, P.O. Box 577,
Ogdensburg, NY 13669. Phone: 800 267-0707.
Fax:877471-3258.
Recycled Plastic Products Source Book. This booklet
lists more than 1,400 plastic products from approxi-
mately 300 manufacturers. For more information,
contact the American Plastics Council (APC), 1300
Wilson Blvd., 13th Floor, Arlington, VA 22209.
Phone: 800 2-HELP-90. Outside of U.S.: 703 253-
0710. Web site: .
Internet Sites—Product
Information
• Recycling Data Network Information Services:
. This com-
mercial Web site provides access, on a subscription
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.
Internet Sites—Government
• The Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines:
. This site describes EPA's effort
to facilitate the procurement of products containing
recovered materials, including information on CPG,
RMANs, and an online database of manufacturers
and suppliers of designated items.
• Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP):
. EPA's EPP program encourages
and assists federal agencies in purchasing environ-
PARK & RECREATION PRODUCTS
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mentally preferable products and services. The site
explains EPA's proposed guiding principles for
including environmental performance in
purchasing decision-making, and posts case studies
of successful pilot projects in both the public and
private sectors.
Federal Trade Commission: . The Federal Trade
Commission issued Guides for the Use of
Environmental Marketing Claims in May 1998.
Jobs Through Recycling: . EPA's
Jobs Through Recycling program stimulates eco-
nomic growth and recycling market development 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.
King County Recycled Product Procurement
Program: . This site contains infor-
mation on why to buy recycled-content products,
how to procure them, and provides access to a
database with information on products, as well as
manufacturers, distributors, reprocessors, mills, and
converters across the country who procure or pro-
duce these products.
Municipal Solid Waste: . This
site includes information on recycling, source reduc-
tion, and reuse. Contains state municipal solid
waste data and the latest facts and figures on waste
generation and disposal.
WasteWise: . WasteWise
is a free, voluntary EPA program through which
organizations eliminate costly municipal solid
waste, benefitting their bottom line and the environ-
ment. The program provides hands-on assistance to
members to help them purchase or manufacture
recycled-content products, prevent waste, and recy-
cle solid waste materials.
PARK & RECREATION PRODUCTS
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