Buying Recycled and Environmentally Preferable Products Sarah Ketchem NC Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance (919) ;

buying recycled purchasing products that contain materials diverted from the solid waste stream environmentally  preferable  procurement purchasing goods and services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment in their manufacture, use, and disposal when compared to other goods and services that serve the same purpose

àPaper consumption increasing àFaster removal of trees than re-growth in 50 NC counties àMixed hardwood forests being replaced with pine plantations àOnly 30-40% of recyclable office paper recovered in NC à50% of de-inked pulp is exported Impact on Natural Resources

How much paper do we use? Average American office worker uses: 10,000 sheets of paper/ year or 20 reams/ 2 cases or 100 pounds

Reduce Reuse Recycle Re-Buy What can you do to eliminate some of this waste?

Why Are the Obstacles to Buying Recycled? rice uality vailabilityPQA

Economies of Scale PriceQuality Time/Demand

Common Myths re: Recycled Content Paper àIt isn’t the same quality as virgin àIt jams the printer/copier àIt costs too much àIt isn’t available in large enough quantities àResource use is equal to or more than virgin

Quality… àContinues to improve as demand and technology improves. àMust meet the same specifications as virgin paper. àGuaranteed to work well in copiers and printers. àMany are acid free for archival longevity

Performance… àJams are often caused by incorrectly loaded paper. àCopiers are certified to run recycled paper. àOlder copiers may work better with heavier papers. àLease vs. Buy Certified!

Cost… àPrice is coming down àCo-ops and large quantity buying: àReduction = cost savings àThe more we buy the cheaper it gets

Environmental Impact… àEvery ton of 30% post consumer recycled paper saves: *3000 gallons of water *2050 kilowatt-hours of energy *30 pounds of air pollution *eight full-grown trees à Full cost accounting tells the real story

Availability… à Available in virtually every grade of paper à No virgin available on State Contract àOrder ahead of time àThink post-consumer àAsk for it!

NC local governments eligible for funding to promote buying recycled à $40,000 available; $5K-$8K per grant àBuy recycled policy and/or procedures àIn-house training and education àProduct purchase and evaluation à Outreach and education to private sector DPPEA Grants Available

2000 Buy Recycled Grantees GranteeAmountProject Chatham Co.$5,000Test plastic lumber, office supplies Gaston Co.$2,925Develop policy; outreach to businesses Hendersonville$3,500Develop policy; train staff; test products Hope Mills$2,500Develop policy; test furniture & rubber Land-of-Sky COG$,4000Develop policy; test office products Mecklenburg Co.$4,000Upgrade policy; test paper Orange Co.$4,500Set up tracking system; host conference Pasquotank Co.$4,484Test plastic lumber, re-refined oil, paper

àNC DPPEA Web Site: àNC Division of Purchase and Contract web site: àThe Official Recycled Products Guide: Information Resources

Web Resources àEPA Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines: àGreen Seal: àConservatree: àOfficial Recycled Products Guide: àBuy Recycled Business Alliance: brba.nrc-recycle.org/brba.nrc-recycle.org/ àEPA Environmentally Preferable Purchasing: àEPPNET: àRecycled Paper co-op à King County Washington Environmental Purchasing