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Closing the Loop:
Buy Recycled
November 18, 1998, Santa Monica, California

Organized by the Southern California Council on Environment and Development (SCCED)

3. PROCUREMENT TRACK

RECYCLED PRODUCT SUCCESS STORIES

Joe Haworth , Information Officer, L.A. County Sanitation Districts, Moderator:

I look out my office window at 80 million tons of buried trash at the Puente Hills landfill. So I am pleased to talk about stuff that is not being trucked to landfills, but being recycled. Let's talk about the success stories.

Susana Estreller, from the L.A. City Recycling Program, oversees recycling in 500 city facilities, one of the largest recycling programs in the nation, and implements a city reuse program called City Materials Exchange ( CITYMAX).

Successes in the City of Los Angeles

Susana Estreller , Administrator of the L.A. City Recycling Program:

We are implementing a Buy Recycled 2000 Campaign , where "recycled products have more than 9 lives." We have 36,000 employees plus 13,000 more in proprietary agencies. Employee education and training is one of our most valuable efforts. We go out and talk about AB 939 and the urgency to buy recycled content products. The good news is the prices for recycled-content products are competitive with virgin products.

City policies are important. We have City Ordinance #16813, otherwise known as the City's Recycled Products Purchasing Ordinance. This ordinance requires City Departments to purchase recycled products in 18 product categories. Another Ordinance ( #170485) provides a 10% price preference for recycled-content only if the product with recycled-content is not widely available.

The Mayor's Buy Recycled Challenge was issued in 1997 challenging the Department Heads to meet the City's buy recycled goal. City Council also requires all agencies to close the loop on mixed paper and phone books. It requires vendors, suppliers, and distributors of paper products to purchase the recycled paper generated by City facilities and residents and to use these as raw materials in the manufacture of the paper products (i.e. mailing envelopes, office paper, other paper supplies). This also requires a report each year by City contract vendors for each product on the amount of recycled content, the dollar amounts purchased, and the users. The City wants to insure that its recyclables have a market and that the recyclables are made into products supplied to the City through contractual agreements.

The Buy Recycled 2000 Campaign gave more teeth to implementing the Ordinance by making the purchase of recycled content products a City Standard. This means that specifications for all bids and contracts for 18 product categories should contain only recycled content, with no price preference. For 1997-8 the target product categories are: paper and paper products, rubber, plastics, solvent and paints, lubricating oil, asphalt, compost and compost products, and office products. When a contract is up for renewal, an agency must review the contract specifications, and may change them if it will not increase the price. However, a new contract must include recycled content, only with no price preference. If there is limited availability of recycled content products, then a 10% price preference can be used.

In 1998-99, we are expanding the program to include glass, tires, building insulation, automotive parts, batteries, aggregate rock, additional office products, processed and crushed concrete and asphalt, moveable and portable walls, and antifreeze.

The main challenges we are facing:

  • Price: Some virgin products are less expensive than those with recycled content.

  • Performance: Some user requirements are stringent and hard to meet. Some require product testing before finalizing specs and purchases.

  • Research and testing : We recommend blind testing of products.

  • Specifications: Consider standardized and then customize for certain departments. For example, the Department of Water and Power has safety issues on recycled safety vests. Recreation & Parks requires longer testing periods for recycled paint.

  • Product maintenance and life span : We explain the life cycle cost advantages, such as lower maintenance for plastic lumber with initial higher cost.

  • Waste handling : All products regardless of content require disposal afterwards.

  • Vendor certification : we require vendors to report the number and dollar amount of products purchased bi-annually, with the pre-consumer and post-consumer content. We try to implement a closed loop system where applicable.

    • Recycled Products we purchase include:

    Paper: There is no excuse for not buying recycled paper and paper products. The city purchases $3 million of copier and printing bond paper annually, with 95% of our printing paper and forms and certificates having recycled content.

    Mailing envelopes : We require our vendor to purchase the mixed paper and phone books from City contract recyclers at existing market rates and then make the envelopes from that material, so we are closing the loop on this product.

    Janitorial paper supplies : We have switched to chlorine-free toilet tissue and paper towels. There was no negative response.

    Office supplies : We use the Office Depot recycled products catalog. We buy remanufactured laser toner cartridges.

    Promotional products : All are recycled, mugs are made from recycled glass, and T-shirts are made from recycled PET.

    Plastic: Barricades, warning signs, and recycling bins are all made from 100% recycled plastic. We are also buying recycled plastic lumber for equestrian fences.

    Carpet: Carpet fiber facing provided by Collins Aikman is made from recycled PET.

    Glass spheres in traffic controls are from recycled glass.

    Glassphalt: We found it performs satisfactorily, it ages at the same rate as traditional asphalt. But there was no response to a Request for Bid because glass is expensive to process.

    Paint: The city used 18,440 gallons of remixed paint last year, for a savings of $113,000. But it was used only for covering graffiti. The problem is the Department of Recreation and Parks wants the paint in standard colors, so that if a portion of a wall needs repainting they can get the same color. Recycled paint batches do not have consistent color mixes.

    Tires: Last year we used 12,000 retread tires, for a $1.3 million savings. Retread tires are used in refuse collection vehicles.

    Asphalt: Rubberized asphalt worked great in the pilot resurfacing projects.

    Traffic cones : The base is made from recycled materials.

    Playgrounds: Recycled materials are being tested.

    Re-refined oil : We used 7,000 gallons last year. There were concerns about engine warranties, but further testing found it is working perfectly.

    Recycling 2000 Campaign : We have a 100% increase in the number of recycled products processed at central stores and delivered to City Departments. We list 264 line items now, worth about $3 million annually.

    The key to a successful buy recycled campaign is to work with the users (buyers, specifiers, supply clerks, etc.), test the product, publicize product performance results, analyze cost savings, and get vendor support. These steps will secure the buy-in of all parties involved. It takes resourcefulness and persistence to change attitudes about recycled-content products; then you will get buy-in.

    Our problem areas:

  • Safety and performance standards

  • Product failure blamed on recycled content : For example, we were told the bathroom tissue tears too easily. But we investigated and found the recycled paper was one-ply instead of the 2-ply used previously.

  • Vendor resistance : Some vendors feel it is cumbersome to track the recycled content sales, but they are computerized anyway, and all they need to do is to code the sales properly.

    • Our next phase will target recycled paint, tires, glass, batteries, alternatives to toxic and hazardous products, and building materials, such as recycled drywall, carpet, etc.


    Successes in Victorville

    Claudia Roberts , Purchasing, City of Victorville:

    I represent a small city with small numbers, but it still has a success story to tell. I want to tell you that we can make a difference. Every recycled product we buy makes a difference.

    We can overcome the paradigm that people think recycled is no good. I just use a simple test with my user. I show them two envelopes, one is made from 50% recycled paper and the other is virgin. They cannot tell the difference.

    To implement buying recycled, even in a conservative agency, these are the steps I used.

    1. Find an ally . I worked with the recycling manager, who helped me find recycled products. If you are a recycling coordinator, find someone in purchasing who shows an interest and work with them.

    2. Get legal backup . We found an old Council Resolution that favored buying recycled. We also found state and federal mandates. The Federal government has rigid specifications on buying recycled if you use any federal money. The State Public Contract Code specifies buying recycled and even has reporting requirements.

    3. Get started . I decided to tackle one commodity that everybody uses, copy paper. I contacted paper manufacturers and asked them for references from other cities that buy their recycled paper. I asked those cities for printer and copier performance and found they had no problems. I asked the manufacturers for samples. Then I did a blind test, taking the paper out of the wrapping and giving it to secretaries. Then a few days later I asked them how it performed. None of them reported any problems. I sent a request for quotes for both recycled and virgin, and found there was only a 5% price difference, which is allowed by the State. I simplified paper specifications to "20# bond, white paper with 50% recycled, 20% post-consumer content." My computer paper now is 100% recycled and works fine.

    4. Educate the end users . Answer their questions. Also whenever I see any new information on recycled product I send the users copies.

    5. Educate the vendors . I tell the vendors that whatever they print on for the City has to be certified as recycled. I have had experiences where they tried to sneak virgin stock past me to bid a lower price. So I look carefully at the paper and see if there are any dark flecks in it indicating it is recycled. So now they go out to try to find sources with the recycled paper I want.

    6. Use information resources . (See handout in the appendix.) I use the California Department of Conservation's quarterly California market watch, which lists dealers of recycled content products. The manual by the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority has helpful language for bid specs. It also has the President's Executive Order and rationale for buying recycled. The California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) has publications and a database on their website where you can search for suppliers of any recycled products. The Alameda County Recycling Board Manual has just about everything you need.

    7. Remember the reasons why to buy recycled :

  • To close the loop, build a market for recyclables from our MRF (materials recovery facility).

  • To expand new sources and products.

  • To get better value for the dollar spent: e.g. plastic lumber has lower long term cost.

  • To comply with existing and prepare for future legislation.

    • You can make a difference, it doesn't matter how much you start with, just start. Every ream of paper weighs 5.5 pounds. My little city buys 26,400 pounds of paper per year, and I can impact whether or not that's recycled.

    The real reason we should recycle is for the children . We live in a global environment with limited resources, and I would like my children to have a future.

    Joe Haworth : It sounds like Claudia is a good example of what Margaret Mead said, "It takes only one person to start a movement, it always starts with just one person's idea."


    Making the Shift to Sustainability

    Ron Weber , Environmental Technologies for the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB):

    What are we measuring our successes against? We are looking at our ability to shift our production and consumption from non-sustainable practices to sustainable practices.

    "Sustainable" means, "producing the things we need today without adversely affecting future generations' ability to do the same thing." Using virgin products is not sustainable, because with population increases, eventually we will run out of virgin sources.

    You can make a difference. A paradigm shift is a change in the way you think. You are the one to make a difference. It doesn't matter what your job is. What matters is how many of you purchase recycled content products at home. Everything you buy affects the world we live in.

    Policy: We can use policy incentives or disincentives. Technical progress can lead to sustainability or unsustainability. For example, technical progress in fishing has led to over-fishing and depletion of stocks.

    Market acceptance : What makes a product acceptable is price, quality, availability and emotional appeal. But you are the ones driving the market. Every time you make a purchase, you send a signal to the manufacturers saying, "I want this." How many of you will call your suppliers and tell them, "I don't just want recycled, but also at least 20% post-consumer content."

    Education is a challenge, because information has to be assimilated before it is useful.

    You have the choice of whether to address purchasing with a good conscience or do business as usual. No one can make you do the right thing, you have make the personal decision. You have to make the consciousness shift. But then your individual consciousness shift becomes a global consciousness shift. Then we are caring for our children and our children's children. This comes from our ability to make a connection with others and share our consciousness with others.

    You have the potential to make a difference. Go back and talk to 3 people and educate them, provide them with the knowledge to make the difference, get them to feel as strongly about this as you do. If you do the job well, those 3 people will go out and do the same thing. In fact, you are the only one that can do it.

    Re-refined oil is better than virgin, because in the hydrocracking process, only the strongest molecules survive, and when it is re-refined only the strongest molecules survive each time.

    We can change ignorance (which is defined as lack of knowledge or understanding) easier than prejudice (which is defined as making a decision without or in spite of knowledge or understanding). You can change ignorance easily, prejudice requires an inner journey.

    Questions:

    Q: Culver City is trying to save money, because of budget cuts. How do we convince them to spend a little more on recycled products. We tried life cycle costs and it was turned down.

    Estreller: Find some allies to help you convince the budget people to spend a little money on a pilot project, and then report to them on the results. In our reports to City Council, we include cost-benefit analysis, effect on the environment, partnerships with vendors, and steps we will take to offset the cost. We have formed partnerships with many vendors. For example, Pacific Bell has a contract with the City to recycle phone books. You can demonstrate that it works.

    Weber: The basic flaw in our doing business is looking at only the current budget cycle. We must shift to including the natural resource and environmental costs. We are working on some measurement tools that will include natural resource accounting. The costs of virgin materials are subsidized at up to 50%.

    Q: In our city, we tried to attach a piggy-back clause to all our bids to encourage coop purchasing, but City of Los Angeles has a higher formal bid limit than we do, so they bid out differently than we do.

    Haworth: We do have to shift the way we do things. Remember the astronaut who was going off into space depending on 2 million pieces that were all low bid. Our society is made of millions of pieces that are all low bid. We may have to fight to do the right thing.

    Manuel Vasquez , City of Los Angeles: First, do an assessment on what are the operational needs, including safety, public health and welfare, and develop specs that are acceptable to your users. Then do a pilot study, including a vendor product uation. Get into partnership with the vendors. You should also look at the vendors' suppliers, and their impact on the environment in the manufacturing process.

    In Los Angeles, we have 27 recycled products that we report on to the Council. We do product uation with the users. We have to justify it is cost-effective, and that performance and safety are not compromised.

    Q: What categories have recycled products available that meet quality requirements?

    Estreller: Before the ordinance was passed, we had a specifications task force that looked for opportunities for purchasing recycled. The results of that research defined the product categories to be included in the ordinance. Now we are working with the vendors to find recycled and more environment-friendly products. We want to make recycled content specified in every bid by 2000.

    Roberts: The Victorville resolution passed in 1990, but I don't think any of the Council members remember it. I don't have any support from upper management, I only have one approval to buy one set of recycled copy paper. Now I don't compare recycled vs. virgin paper, because I have specified only recycled.

    Estreller: Our mandate was based on AB 939. Since buying recycled will close the loop, the City formed a specifications task force to work on the Recycled Products Purchasing Ordinance.

    Q: Will the state provide a database for recycled products?

    Weber: The database on the CIWMB website is not sufficiently California-specific; it should have the California vendors of the products we need. The State did away with the CIWMB Buy Recycled Section. We are posting online the Harris directory (which is the best), and the Recycled Products Guide (RPG) at www.ciwmb.ca.gov



    DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE POLICIES FOR BUYING RECYCLED

    Joan Satt , Culver City, Moderator.

    Environmental Purchasing in Santa Monica

    Dean Kubani , Environmental Analyst, Environmental & Public Works Management Department, City of Santa Monica:

    You can get detailed information in a new US EPA publication called "The City of Santa Monica's Environmental Purchasing: A Case Study."

    The City of Santa Monica defines "green" products as "environmentally preferable" products. If you limit yourself to only recycled content, you don't include a lot of products that relate to sustainability. Our list includes
  • Less hazardous/less toxic products , such safer cleaning and janitorial products
  • Resource efficient products , such as compact fluorescent bulbs
  • Less polluting products , such as paint without volatile organic compounds (VOCs), or vehicles that operate on alternative fuels, and
  • Products with recycled content .

    • Our green purchasing program arose out of our Sustainable City Program which was developed by a citizen task force in 1992 and adopted by City Council in 1994. Major goals include:
  • Reduce Resource Consumption
  • Reduce Waste and Pollution
  • Protect Human Health and the Environment

    • We saw that environmentally preferable purchasing would help further these goals.

    We started by listing all goods and outside services we were buying in 1994 to help us prioritize where we could have the biggest impact, because we knew we couldn't do everything at once. We started on chemicals and hazardous materials because of both the human health and environmental hazards associated with them.

    Areas of Purchasing Success:

  • Custodial Supplies , we are using safer products in 15 of 17 categories.

  • Vehicle Maintenance , we are using less toxic antifreeze, water-based parts cleaner, re-refined motor oil, retread tires.

  • Recycled Content Products , including paper, office products, street surfaces, paint, trash can liners.

  • Alternative Fuel Vehicles , currently 40% of the City's fleet vehicles operate on alternative fuel. Our goal is to have 75% of the fleet be alternative fueled by 2000.

  • Pest Control Services , we are using integrated pest management; last year we saved 30% on cost of pest services, got better results and didn't use any spraying of toxic chemicals.

  • Energy and Water Conserving Equipment , we are purchasing energy-efficient lighting and heating and air conditioning equipment, water conserving toilets and faucets, etc.

  • Green Building Materials , we are looking now to buying recycled and low toxic building materials for all new municipal construction.

  • Renewable Energy , City Council has approved the purchase of renewable energy to power all City facilities.

    • We have three types of Green Purchasing Strategies:

    1. Ordinances, which are primarily used to ban purchasing of products that are not environmentally desirable, such as tropical rainforest wood or ozone-depleting chemicals.

    2. Council-Adopted Policies , such as the Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Renewable Energy programs, which were based on staff reports and council debates.

    3. Informal Policies, which comprise about 90% of our green purchasing policies. These are not mandated by City Council, but are developed and implemented internally through staff efforts.

    These informal policies can be simple (such as recycled content in a particular type of printing paper) or very complex (specifying multiple products going out for a city-wide bid, such as custodial cleaning products).

    Most of the policies are complex because they require extensive staff research and consultation with users. The Environmental Programs Department staff research products, price and availability and work with the end users to test the products. We work with buyers, upper management and end users to develop specifications, train end users and bring in outside experts to help educate the users. We educate people about benefits, availability, and cost-savings of these products.

    Obstacles:

  • Issue of Low Bid : Our Municipal Code requires we take the "lowest responsible bid," which we have defined as including environmental attributes and performance of the product as well as cost. We are working on strengthening our Municipal Code to include environmental language.

  • Resistance to Change : People are happy about using less toxic products, but they are reluctant to change when the product they are using works well. So we work with the users and say, "We want you to tell us if the green products works well or not."

  • Product Performance : Sometimes we find the products are not really environmentally sound, or their performance is not adequate.

    • Keys to Success

  • Support from the top : We have had good support from Council and top managers.

  • Include end users in decision making process , so they become partners and advocates.

  • Detailed research and testing , so there are few problems.

  • Implement in a pilot program , to get the bugs out before going city-wide.

  • Train end users.

  • Be flexible , listen to end users and change if necessary.




    • Alameda County Recycled Product Purchase Preferences Program (RPPPP)

    Beth Eckl , Recycling Program Manager, General Services Agency, Alameda County

    I want to talk about using price preferences effectively. Our program is called the Alameda County Recycled Product Purchase Preferences Program (RPPPP). Alameda County has 11,000 employees with a centralized purchasing operation, however departments are able to buy up to $2,000 of products without going through our Purchasing Department.

    Voter initiative : In 1990 the voters passed the Alameda County Waste Reduction and Recycling Initiative. This is a far-reaching initiative, requiring cities and the County to recycle up to 75% of its waste by 2010. As part of this initiative, our County government is mandated to implement a 10% price preference to purchase recycled, obtain the recycled content of products, accept bids for fewer products when that will lead to greater recycled content, and review bid specifications. What's unique about this measure is it mandates a $6 per ton tipping fee to pay for mandated programs, and allocates 5% of the monies collected to our County's RPPPP. We are able to be reimbursed any additional cost up to 10% to buy recycled products. Getting reimbursed may sound wonderful; however, the down-side is that it takes at least 6-8 weeks of someone's time to calculate the reimbursement each year.

    Successes to date : We are now spending about $2.5 million/year on recycled content products, including: 60% of copier paper, all plastic liners, all motor oil, etc.

    Price preference : Implementation of the price preference has been similar to implementation of other preferences such as those for local vendors, women and minority-owned businesses. Assistance provided to our purchasing department involves helping buyers find vendors, modifying specifications and encouraging buyer involvement whenever possible.

    The preference overcomes low bid requirements when necessary, but a preference is not always required. Some products are the same cost or cheaper (motor oil, toilet paper), and some products save money in the long run, such as buying recycled plastic lumber, because it lasts longer than wood.

    A preference policy has been helpful to us, but it requires people to make it work. The responsibility should not fall on buyers alone without additional support.

    The Resourceful Purchasing Guide talks about when to use a price preference. It says a price preference under 5% has no impact, and that it is easier to use a preference in multiples of 5, such as 5%, 10%, 15%.

    Before trying a price preference, talk to your local vendors to find out the price comparison, because many recycled content products cost the same as virgin.

    We found re-refined motor oil is cheaper; we also receive a rebate by giving the refiners our used oil; buying it back closes the loop.

    Some recycled content products cost more, such as copy paper (7% more), computer paper, forms, envelopes, some office supplies, rubberized asphalt, recycled plastic lumber products.

    California State Public Contract Code 12210 (a) allows local governments to use a price preference for recycled products but does not set an amount.

    Challenges:

    Actual recycled content : We found it important to require vendors to certify recycled content with a certification form. On more than one occasion, what we bought differed from what the sales material told us.

    Certain products : We found it is difficult to apply a recycled product preference to office supplies, public works and construction projects, and complex products such as autos and electronics for several reasons. Public contract code forbids any bid for public works or construction projects to allow preferences. They can only accept the lowest bid. Office supplies are not easy to compare apple-to-apple in order to apply a preference. For complex products, it is not an easy task for an automotive or computer hardware dealer/seller to know whether the parts contain recycled content. We also don't apply a preference to metal products as most metal already contains recycled content.

    Resources: The Resourceful Purchasing Guide is a hands-on manual about price preferences, specifications, and bid procedures. You can download it from www.stopwaste.org or you can email to mcullors@stopwaste.org or phone to 510-614-1699.

    Kate Lutz : The fact that Beth Eckl is able to do an award-winning program with only 30% of her time is an inspiration to all of us.

    Q: Who wrote the Alameda County Waste Reduction and Recycling Initiative?

    Eckl: It was written by environmentalists in the Bay Area who wanted to stop County incineration and advocate more waste reduction. The initiative allocated 10% of the money raised to source reduction, 5% to buying recycled, and rest for recycling programs in all the cities in the County.

    Eric Nelson : We have distributed a four-page model environmental purchasing policy, which has been adopted by 20 of the 30 suburban cities in King County, and it seems to be working well.

    Gildred: Send us your policies and resolutions and we will compile them and get the results out to you.


    COOP BUYING

    Eugene Grigsby , Director of UCLA Advanced Policy Institute, Co-convenor UCLA County-wide Solid Waste Policy Committee

    Last year UCLA convened a strategic summit on waste management to bring municipal officials, waste haulers, and environmentalists together to look at the fact that we had State legislation mandating a 50% reduction, but no plan to implement it.

    Everyone agreed that recycling can work only if markets are created. We produced a booklet and a video tape outlining principles of what a good solid waste management policy should look like.

    We created a task force to implement action steps to reduce the amount of waste going into landfills. The first thing we discovered was that over 60% of the waste stream is paper. We asked what could we do as a collective to reduce that? We thought that if every city bought recycled paper, we could have a real impact.

    We found virtually every city in L.A. County had some form of a policy on purchasing recycled paper, but there is no systematic tracking system to see if the policy is effective. The gatekeepers for this policy are the purchasing agents. We heard their concerns about recycled paper costing more, being of lower quality, and being in limited supply. But we found that now the cost is nearly competitive, the quality concern is a non-issue, and there are plenty of available types of recycled papers. We have concluded that purchasing agents should be more pro-active in implementing buy recycled policies. We also found that elected officials need to be better educated to the benefits of recycling policies for their city.

    Our action steps for the coming year include:
    1. Inviting purchasing agents throughout the County to join a collective approach.
    2. Getting 10 large cities into coop or piggy-back purchasing systems .
    3. Monitoring progress .
    4. Publicizing the results .

    I've found the L.A. Times is good for reporting success stories, as well as publicizing municipalities that fail to live up to their responsibilities. Having periodic coverage on cities that are engaged in best practice recycling policies might be a good way to stimulate action from other cities.

    The benefits of participating in coop or piggy-back systems include:
    1. Reducing cost of recycled paper products by buying in bulk.
    2. Reducing paper in the waste stream by increasing the value of paper.
    3. Broadening the market for recycled paper .
    4. Contributing to implementing the state mandate for source reduction .

    Check with me in a year and I will report to you our progress. You can call 310-825-8886 to get more information about coop or piggy-back purchasing systems.


    EDUCATING THE END USER

    Christine Roberto , Purchasing Manager, City of Downey, Moderator. We have formed a purchasing managers group (LAMPPAC) that would be happy to have other purchasing managers join for joint bids and piggy-backing. Contact me at 562-904-7257 for more information.


    Developing an Interactive System with the Users

    Eric Nelson , Environmental Purchasing Coordinator, King County, Washington:

    Users are the key to a successful Buy-Recycled program. Your challenge is to find pertinent information about good products (that also happen to serve the buy-recycled policy objective) and to get this into the hands of the people who actually DO the job, so they can decide whether it makes sense.

    In King County, we have our information gathering centralized so we can look far and wide for new products. We distribute information out to agencies all around the County, then receive feedback from the users and get those results out to other people.

    We have found that we can bring in suggestions and some agencies will snatch up the ideas and run with them. Actually, this is frequently true, as long as the products you are suggesting make sense. But if you find yourself trying to sell a product that costs too much or doesn't work, stop, because there are plenty of potentially profitable products that you can focus on.

    Remanufactured toner cartridges : It is helpful to anticipate the obstacles. For example, the idea of remanufactured toner cartridges was initially rejected because users were worried it would void the warrantee and ruin the machine. We tried to meet this problem head-on by meeting with the vendors and presented them with a draft bid spec. We asked them, "would you be able to do this?" Most of them said they couldn't do it, but 3 said they could. So we put out the bid and eventually got a contract with a local remanufacturing company. We even put in language that requires the contractor to respond within 24 hours if the user reports any problem with the cartridge. You can find the language of our bid spec on our website: www.metrokc.gov/procure/green

    In 6 years we have never had any damage to a machine. There have been a few leakers. My personal belief (and it is supported by data from the companies) is that the failure rate of remanufactured cartridges is about the same as original virgin equipment. If any of you have comparison data on failure rates, let me know.

    Copier paper : The initial fear on recycled paper was that it would damage the copier machines. It turns out there is wide variation in quality in both virgin and recycled paper. So if the users have any objections to some recycled paper, we say, "We are so sorry it didn't work for you. Thank you for uating that paper. You are so helpful in testing paper, we would like you to uate another kind." We keep asking them to test more and more paper. We found the objections eventually went away. Now over 90% of our copier stock is recycled paper.

    Landscape mulch : We found one vendor was grinding up tree stumps and selling it for fuel. But we realized it would be an effective landscape mulch. It turns out that the shredded wood has long fibers that hold together to cover the earth, so it's good for erosion control, but not so tight as to prevent water to permeate. We found it looks better than bark, it lasts longer and doesn't have to be replaced as often. The price is only $5 per cubic yard, compared to bark at $15 per cubic yard.

    Pool filtration sand : We are glad if producers use King County as a tool for developing their product. Using the county's technical people to help manufacturers develop new products using recycled materials is a great way to expand the use of recyclables. After all, we hire people in technical areas because they know the materials and processes. If somebody wants to develop a product, it makes sense to ask them what they want. As a County, we have declared a desire to enhance markets for recycled materials by purchasing recycled products, so it makes sense for us to help vendors develop good products for us to buy. For example, a firm wanted to make pool filtration sand from recycled glass. So we got the information on what the user wanted to the producer, and after some development work, King County just took delivery of 18 tons of high tech filter sand.

    I suggest you make sure the vendor is attending to the user's needs and then you get out of the way. So we hold tours, organize workshops, take people to conference, give them magazine subscriptions, etc. to get the information flowing.

    Using Email : It used to be we sent out information one brochure at a time, by making copies from our bulging file-cabinets and mailing them out. But with email, if we see a great idea, we can have it in the offices of 500 people tomorrow. We have information posted to our website, so we don't shuffle paper any more. We are a staff of 2 people trying to inform 12,000 people. We have designated people in each of the agencies to be the focus of information into and out of that agency; a total of about 100 people across the County fill this role. We email a Procurement Bulletin every couple of weeks to inform people about the latest developments and reassure them that we want to stay in touch with them. There are now people all across the country on our email list. Email us a request at eric.nelson@metrokc.gov and we will add you to the list.

    In the bulletin, we interview users, get their experiences and write-up innovations. When other people start calling those innovative users, they realize how important they really are.

    Users are the key : The bottom line is to attend to the users' needs. If the marketplace is to help us reach our environmental goals, we need to help manufacturers understand the needs of the people who must actually live with the results of using these new products. We need to keep the users requirements clearly in front of the manufacturers so the products they make will actually do a good job for the users.


    Ways to Involve the Users

    Beth Eckl , Recycling Program Manager, General Services Agency, Alameda County:

    Overcome misconceptions : There are some common misconceptions we have to overcome about recycled products such as "too costly," or "inferior quality." One woman even asked me if recycled toilet paper could give her a disease.

    Who to convince to buy recycled? Generally work with the decision-makers; it is not necessary to market to everyone. For countywide products (copy paper, office supplies), we work mostly with the buyers. For specialty products (roads, automotive, buildings), we target the user or spec writer.

    The buyer gave the users a choice the first year on recycled or virgin copy paper. There were no complaints so the next time she went out to bid, the buyer specified only recycled paper in the specs. The price preference also allowed us to purchase it as the cost ranged from 8-18% more. For office supplies, Office Depot provides a good catalog of recycled products.

    Strategies to Promote Buy Recycled:

  • Meet with the users: Describe the County policies and show product samples and information.

  • Find out users' concerns or issues and help educate them.

  • Create targeted educational materials focused on particular products.

  • Have a sample recycled product box : Our box of recycled products (free samples from vendors) are a big hit in meetings and presentations.

  • Develop special campaigns : The buyer did a nine-month promotion with our office supply vendor to promote recycled and reusable products. He distributed free samples and wrote brief bulletins sent to the 100 staff who order supplies. There was a significant increase in sales of recycled; it is now 10% of expenditures for all office supplies.

  • Do blind tests : For toilet paper, we got a lot of samples, and found that some types of recycled toilet paper are much softer than virgin and cost the same. We are now testing non-bleached brown paper towels and they look good so far. After a four-month test of recycled toilet paper with no complaints, we switched at no additional cost.

  • Conduct pilot tests : We pilot tested recycled traffic barricades, and found this product withstands being hit by autos much better than wood and metal barricades. We started testing rubberized asphalt in 1993. It has been successful so far and more tests are being planned. Even with a pilot test, some products may still be hard to "sell." We tested remanufactured toner cartridges sending two samples (purchased with a grant) to each of the largest users. It helped increase awareness but many months later, the users converted back to virgin cartridges. Staff turnover had an impact on our results.

  • Recognize small successes : We created a Green Award for the buyer with the most environmental progress in that month. The awards say, "Thank you for spending $10,000 on recycled products."

  • Do a life-cycle analysis : A life-cycle cost analysis may show the added benefits of buying recycled. Plastic lumber lasts much longer than wood. Our maintenance guys love it, because it saves them maintenance time.

  • Have vendor presentations of recycled products.

  • Organize environmental lectures: We have a monthly lunch time environmental lecture series for our architects, building managers and others, given by experts in the field to promote recycled building materials. A free lunch is provided to encourage attendance. To promote recycled building materials, we found we have to work closely with the architects, building maintenance people and the clients. An excellent resource for building materials is "Resourceful Specifications," written by Larry Strain, of Siegel and Strain Architects, on preparing recycled specifications for buildings (call 510-547-8092 to order).

  • Send out bulletins : We send a recycling bulletin to all 10,000 employees. It comes out twice each year and includes articles on what is happening around the County on recycling and reuse as well as buying recycled.

  • Conduct a campaign : We did a campaign, "Please be kind to the Earth." We post signs, such as, "This carpet is made from post-consumer recycled materials."

    • Buy Recycled is very important : We have a lot of work to do. I understand that nationwide the use of recycled paper is dropping from 14% a few years ago to only 7% now. Based on information from a local consultant, the demand for recycled content paper has not increased as most people think. The need to buy recycled paper continues and that means everyone in this room ought to get involved.

    Q: Have you used recycled color toner cartridges?

    Ron Weber : The State of California uses recycled DeskJet cartridges and they work fine.

    Relative to copier paper, at first the copier manufacturers were saying we couldn't use recycled paper in their machines. So the State said that we would only buy equipment than could use recycled paper. Suddenly the manufacturers changed their tune and said recycled paper would work fine, and it has.

    Gildred: Send your experiences and sample bid specs to me at kgildred@aol.com and we will compile them and get them out to you.



    NEW BID SPECS: REMOVING BARRIERS TO BUYING RECYCLED

    Joe Delaney , City of Santa Monica, Moderator

    Federal Executive Order on Preventing Waste and Acquisition Policy

    Timonie Hood , US EPA Region IX: I work on buy-recycled, green buildings, construction and demolition, and debris management issues for Region IX. I am glad to see so many from the purchasing community here.

    The new Clinton Executive Order on Preventing Waste and Acquisition Policy # 13101 was published in the Federal Register 63 FR 49641, Sept. 16, 1998. It can also be found at www.ofee.gov on the Internet.

    The Executive Order applies to all federal agencies. It also applies to any state or local agencies using appropriated federal funds for procurement or any contractor with federal, state or local agencies involving federal funds. There is a minimum threshold of $10,000, but we would prefer everyone to abide by the Order, even if they are below that amount. If your agency purchases more than $10,000 of any one type of product in the current year or the previous year, it definitely applies. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Section 6002, also applies.

    The Executive Order includes all supplies and services including purchase and lease options for buildings. You can get these requirements into any specifications for purchases, leases, construction, etc. It is important to get them into the design phases of planning for construction.

    Components: The Executive Order specifies that agencies shall consider the following:

  • Eliminate virgin requirements . You will have a maximum of one year to revise any current bid specs. We remind you, "If it's not in the spec, don't expect it."

  • Use recovered recycled materials .

  • Use bio-based products , such as lubricating oil from corn, construction from wheat straw, etc. In a few months USDA will publish a preliminary list of bio-based products.

  • Consider recyclability or reuse of product.

  • Life cycle cost : It's okay to pay a little more up front to save in the long run.

    • Manuals: We are publishing Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines and Recovered Material Advisories . There are 31 current categories with 19 additional items under review that will probably be published in final form soon. All are listed in the website above. Please give us your comments.

    You can use EPA CPG (Comprehensive Purchasing Guidelines) and RMAN (Recovered Materials Advisory Notice) for information on minimum recycled content.

    A helpful document is the Lawrence Berkeley National Labs Master Facilities Specification Manual . It provides guidelines for, recycling and environmental considerations for construction. It also lists specific vendors. It is available on disk and hard copy.

    Requirement of 30% post-consumer content : On Jan. 1, 1999, copy, printing and writing paper will be required to have at least 30% post-consumer recycled content.

    No price preference : With the new requirement, there is no issue of price preference, because the only item you can buy must have recycled content. You must eliminate virgin or new only requirements. Anyone who is not buying recycled must give a written explanation.

    In writing specification language, you should provide overall environmental guidelines. You should use a generic clause encouraging use of recycled and environmentally preferable products.

    Some lessons learned the hard way, include:

  • Verify recycled content : Vendors sometimes mislead purchasers about post-consumer recycled content. Sometimes I ask for the actual manufacturers of the product so I can contact them.

  • Add recycled content requirement to blueprints , because subcontractors need to see it in the documents they have in front of them.

  • See credit cards as an environmental ally . The Executive Order requires each federal agency to issue guidance regarding use of credit cards, and we encourage you to do the same. Some agencies are using the announcements in billing statements to remind people to buy recycled. This flexibility can empower people to use the credit cards helpfully.

    • Enforcement/Reporting: The Executive Order has some new enforcement teeth. There are Federal facility inspection enforcement guidelines coming out March 1999. They will require that you must revise specifications, product descriptions and standards within 60 days or submit a report on why not. Non-compliance will be reported to the US EPA. They also are encouraging states to adopt similar procedures.

    Buy recycled resources :

  • Websites, such as www.ofee.gov

  • Federal Facilities Master Specification Manual is available free from Shelly Worsham, Department of Energy, 510-486-6123.

  • US EPA : Timonie Hood 415-744-1113

  • CIWMB: Jerry Hart 916-255-4454 or website: www.ciwmb.ca.gov

    • Q: Does the $10,000 threshold apply to one product or a variety of products?

    Hood: It applies on one designated product. For most state and local governments it will apply to most products.

    Eric Nelson : This enforcement teeth will be helpful in working with some reluctant agencies.

    Hood: We will find out the details of the enforcement procedures in March 1999.

    Q: Some of our facilities are being remodeled with Federal money. Does the Executive Order apply?

    Hood: Yes, and in addition, the RCRA also requires recycled materials in construction.


    Opening the Way for Buy Recycled - A Historical Perspective

    Joe Delaney , City of Santa Monica, Moderator: Gretchen Brewer has worked in recycling for over 20 years. She recently completed a "buy recycled" plan for a naval station in San Diego which helped it win a White House "Closing the Circle Award" in 1998.

    Gretchen Brewer , Earth Circle:

    Plastics: From 1986 to 1988, I designed the plastics recycling plan for Massachusetts and Rhode Island. To get an idea of the challenge we faced, I saved my own plastic discards for 1 year, then projected this out to 120 million cubic yards of landfill space for 4 million people over 20 years. With dense population and little open space for new landfills, it was clear that implementing aggressive plastics recycling was our best bet.

    At that time, Massachusetts did not have a Buy Recycled policy, program, or interest. So, first we had to pioneer a product. We chose recycling set-out containers (the well known "blue box"), figuring manufacturers would certainly be motivated by the chance to sell millions of them to state government. We found some of the samples we got were too weak, but several were strong enough to use. Since then, we have come a long way. Many recycled products have now moved into the main stream and are fairly competitive.

    Recycled paper : According to Susan Kinsella, a top US expert on recycled paper, purchasing of recycled printing and writing paper has at best accounted for 10 percent of total office paper purchasing in the country. In her article, "Are We Losing Recycled Paper?" (November, 1998 Resource Recycling Magazine ), she reports that the nation's use of recycled paper has recently slipped from 10% to 7%. Susan notes that purchasing personnel are vital in preserving the progress made and pushing for much greater use of recycled paper. She warns, "If you don't specifically ask for and insist on recycled paper, you won't get it." For comprehensive information on this subject, visit her non-profit website at www.conservatree.org.

    Standards for plastic lumber : Plastic lumber has been tested by the ASTM, American Society of Testing and Measurements. However, ASTM's process delayed market entry of plastic lumber by 8 years, because the testing procedures and standards were designed for wood lumber used in residential and institutional construction. Now, after 5 more years, relevant ASTM standards have been approved and published, enabling manufacturers to compete in product areas where plastic lumber is appropriate and ASTM standards are required.

    However, the ASTM standards published for recycled printing and writing paper were so diluted as to be meaningless for the future of recycled paper.

    Resources: I have provided several handouts, and strongly encourage using these resources. They include:

    1. " Tips and Contacts for Environmentally Sound Purchasing ," by Susan Kinsella, co-author of the Resourceful Purchasing Manual for Alameda County .

    2. Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Net , EPPNET. This is a listserve that includes public and private purchasers, but not vendors at present. You can ask a question and they will give you very helpful answers.

    3. Selected Buying Green Internet Resources , a listing prepared by Earth Circle profiling some of the best websites currently available (see Appendix).

    Q: When we were remodeling, we found our carpet people refused to discuss recycled anything.

    Joe Delaney : We need to get into the process before the stage of hiring the designer. We must remind them we are the customers.

    Nelson: We need to get the recycled language in the initial design document.

    Pat Bailey : I have sample bid specs for the State of California for recycled paper.

    Joe Delaney : Keep your specs simple. It is better to have performance specs, such as, "The paper has to work in my copier and have at least a specified amount of post-consumer recycled content." You can ask vendors to provide samples as a part of their bids and test them. You can also require written certifications of post-consumer content.



    COOPERATIVE BUYING: COST EFFECTIVE BUYING STRATEGIES

    Harold Duffy , City of Riverside, Moderator: Next year will be the tenth anniversary of AB 939. The process of waste management has involved many regional efforts, such as landfills, MRFs, etc., but we have generally ignored the use of collaborative efforts, alliances, partnerships, and regional approaches to purchasing.


    Master Contracts Available from the State of California

    Pat Bailey , Recycled Program Manager, Procurement Division, General Services Administration, State of California:

    State agencies are required by law to buy recycled content products. I am heading the State's Buy Recycled Products Campaign.

    Recycled Paper Master Contract : We have prepared a state contract that all counties and cities can participate in. It specifies 30% post-consumer content recycled paper. This percentage is now the Federal law, as well as in California and 20 other states as of January 1, 1999. I propose that we all stop purchasing any paper below 30% and all go to 30% post-consumer content to build the market for that percentage. This was a competitively-bid contract. The State has to competitively bid any contract over $15,000. This contract was for $2 million.

    The price is $17.73 per box of 5,000 sheets if you are buying by the truckload (higher if you purchase smaller quantities). This is cheaper than virgin paper by 40¢ a ream. Just call our contractor at (916) 391-4684 or fax (916) 391-4684 and tell him you want to participate. You can give him your order directly without involving us.

    Buy Recycled Content Task Force : California has 200,000 employees in 150 agencies. I have a Task Force that now involves the 40 major state agencies, but we are on a campaign to involve over 100 agencies. We want to have a representative from each agency to promote buying recycled within that agency.

    We also have a Steering Committee that is putting together sample policies and procedures for the agencies to implement the law. Our mission statement is: "The Buy Recycled Content Task Force shall provide leadership in facilitating and assisting all state entities to increase their recycled content purchases and achieve their statutory requirements." The next phase is to get usage reports from the agencies. The third goal is diversion.

    There will be some vendor presentations at the Task Force, to facilitate their purchasing of lower volume recycled products, where a master contract is not feasible, such as mouse pads from recycled materials. We are asking for feedback, "What do you need to promote buying recycled in your agency?"

    Natural Gas Master Contract : California has put together a cost-savings group purchasing program for natural gas. All public agencies, including cities, counties and schools, can join. It complies with all bid requirements. We can provide over 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas annually. It will give you about 8% savings, but if you do some consolidation so you can become a non-core customer, you can get savings up to 50%.

    There are workshops in L.A. and San Diego. Last year the program saved a total of $3.7 million for the 120 customers. The program costs less than a penny a therm for us to administer it, to be your advocate and help you avoid any hassle. There is no upper limit to purchases. Call Marty Sengo at (916) 323-6295. Get this information to the people in your organization that buy natural gas.


    Get Serious About Buying Recycled, or Lose Recycled Paper

    Jennifer Pinkerton , waste prevention and recycling consultant to the Department of Water and Power, City of Los Angeles:

    Recycled Paper : Californians Against Waste warns that the recycled paper market is dying. The market share has dropped from 7% a few years ago to 4% now. We are in danger of losing recycled paper if we don't buy more.

    Market Trends : The Asian downturn has reduced demand for recyclables, with particularly impact on plastics. And the overall recycling rate for plastic beverage containers has declined in California. We can offset these two trends by increasing our purchases of plastic products with recycled content.

    Overcome Barriers to Buying Recycled -- End Price Premiums : The price premium for recycled products, particularly copier paper, is the most significant barrier. But, given that the market share for recycled paper is declining, we do not have the luxury of not buying recycled -- no matter what the reasons. Buying recycled IS the insurance for our collection programs. The best strategy for implementing a buy recycled program is to gain political support from upper management and elected officials.

    Policies and ordinances that allow price premiums for recycled products are NOT effective, because they clearly allow the municipality to still issue bids for and purchase virgin products.

    Default to Recycled Products : Those jurisdictions with the most effective buy-recycled programs (such as Seattle and King County, WA) are those that default to recycled products in core commodity categories, with an emphasis on paper products. You must enact (or modify existing) ordinances so there is a default function.

    Rather than recreate the wheel, utilize existing buy-recycled programs. The County of San Diego developed an electronic purchasing system that utilizes federal government product codes, which are the only defacto national codes. This system is menu and key-word-driven, can be set to default to recycled products, and produces annual purchasing reports. The former County Director of Purchasing, Ken Tollefson, now offers this system through a private company, SiCommNet at 619-294-6798. SiCommNet maintains the mainframe, so you don't have to.

    Reduce Waste : To counter price premiums, maximize waste prevention, through methods such as:

  • Reduce Photocopies : The L.A. Department of Water and Power will implement a program to track the number of copies made at each copier, and then challenge all users to cut this number by 10%.

  • Eliminate Unneeded Parts : Examine all printed materials to eliminate or modify them to reduce waste. The City of Los Angeles, for example, has many 8-part forms, where only 4 parts were actually needed; so half of the paper was wasted.

  • Use Online Systems : Online systems may require an upfront investment, but can realize pay back in as little as three years. The Standard Register Company, for example, offers various tiers of online systems for forms. You can design, modify and store forms online and print them only when needed. The same company offers an online, paperless system for payroll.