Fact Sheet: Affirmative Procurement

August 1994

Introduction

Each year, the Federal government spends over $190 billion on goods and services. By focusing on the purchase of energy efficient and environmentally sound products, America's largest consumer, the Federal government, has the opportunity to take a proactive stance on environmental issues by conserving funds, providing a market for recycled/recovered goods and reducing pollution.

Energy Efficient and Environmentally Sound

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy issued Policy Letter 92-4, entitled "Procurement of Environmentally Sound, Energy Efficient Products and Services," to provide a strategy for the acquisition and use of environmentally sound, energy efficient products and services. (This policy letter canceled Policy Letter 76-1, "Federal Procurement Policy," and Policy Letter 77-1, "Procurement of Products That Contain Recycled Material.") Policy-Letter 92-4 mandates the consideration of energy conservation, efficiency, cost and other relevant factors when agencies of the Federal government develop purchase requests, invitations for bids and solicitations for offers.

For more information about Federal affirmative procurement policy, contact:

Linda Mesaros
Office of Federal Procurement Policy
(202) 395-4821

RCRA Requirements

Section 6002 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requires that agencies of the Federal government give preference in their procurement programs to products and practices that conserve and protect both natural resources and the environment. In addition, RCRA Section 6002 requires that EPA develop guidelines to assist Federal agencies with procuring products containing recovered or recycled materials. EPA responded to this requirement on April 20, 1994, by publishing a proposed Comprehensive Procurement Guideline in 59 Federal Register 18852, designating items that are (or can be) made with recovered/recycled materials. This Comprehensive Procurement Guideline incorporates and reorganizes the five procurement guidelines previously issued by EPA. (The previous EPA guidelines included:

• paper and paper products,
  
• re-refined lubricating oil,
  
• retread tires,
  
• building insulation, and
  
• cement/concrete.)

For further information on EPA's Comprehensive Procurement Guideline, contact the people listed in the table below.

Type of Information	EPA Contact
General information	RCRA Hotline (800) 424-9346 (703) 412-9810
Plastic Pipes and Fittings Carpet Floor Tiles Geotextiles Patio Blocks Playground Surfaces Running Tracks	Robin Moran (202) 260-5066
Cement Containing Blast Furnace Slag Engine Coolant Fiberglass Insulation Hydraulic Mulch Laminated Paperboard Rockwood Insulation Structural Fiberboard	Dana Arnold (202) 260-8518
Yard Trimmings Compost	Hope Pillsbury (202) 260-2797
Binders Office Recycling Containers Office Waste Receptacles Plastic Desktop Accessories Plastic Trash Bags Remanufactured Toner Cartridges Temporary Traffic Control Devices	Beverly Goldblatt (202) 260-7932
All Other Technical Information	Beverly Goldblatt (202) 260-7932 Dana Arnold (202) 260-8518

Affirmative Procurement Programs

Federal agencies that purchase more than $10,000 of an item listed by EPA in its Comprehensive Procurement Guideline are required, under RCRA Section 6002, to establish (within one year after the item has been listed) an affirmative procurement program for that item. An affirmative procurement program is an agency's strategy for maximizing the purchase of an EPA-designated item. Affirmative procurement programs should be developed in a manner that assures that items composed of recovered/recycled materials are purchased to the maximum extent practicable.

RCRA Section 6002 requires that, at a minimum, affirmative procurement programs consist of the following four elements:

1. a preference program;
   
2. a promotion program;
   
3. procedures for obtaining estimates and certifications of recycled/recovered material content; and
   
4. procedures for monitoring and annually reviewing the effectiveness of the affirmative procurement program.

Other policies implementing affirmative procurement include:

• Executive Orders 11912, 12759, 12780 and 12902;
  
• DASD Memorandum, 3 February 1993; and
  
• CSAF/SAF Memorandum, 25 September 1992.

Acquisition of Recovered Materials

In response to the requirements of RCRA Section 6002 and EPA's Comprehensive Procurement Guideline, the General Services Administration has published the "GSA Recycled Products Guide," which may be ordered from:

GSA Controlled Mailing List Service
Fort Worth, TX 76115
(817) 334-5215
DSN 739-7369

Summary

Federal agencies are obligated by law to make every effort to use recycled/recovered materials. Organizations seeking to acquire materials or products must consider satisfying their needs with items containing recovered/recycled materials. For more information on affirmative procurement, consult EPA's Comprehensive Procurement Guideline.

Glossary

Environmentally Sound: A product or service that minimizes damage to the environment and is less harmful to the environment to use, maintain and dispose in comparison to a competing product or service.

Recovered Material: Waste material and by-products which have been recovered or diverted from solid waste. Does not include those materials and by-products generated from, and commonly reused within, an original manufacturing process.

Recycled Material: A material that can be utilized in place of raw or virgin material in manufacturing a product. Consists of materials derived from post-consumer, industrial or agricultural waste that can be used in the manufacture of new products.

Need more information?

Call PRO-ACT
DSN 240-4214 (800) 233-4356