BUY RECYCLED PROGRAM
Maryland Environmental Service

 Buying recycled products has many benefits, including creating markets (closing the loop), resource management, reducing the volume of material going to landfill, and economic development.

Listed below are key elements in establishing a buy recycled program:

Commitment - Agencies must make a commitment to buying recycled products. The commitment must begin with the organization's CEO, and must also include buyers, recycling coordinators and using agencies.

Variety of Recycled Products - There are a wide variety of recycled products available for offices, vehicles, buildings and other uses made from paper, plastic, metals, oil, rubber and other materials.

Price, Quality and Availability - Recycled products will be bought and used if they are cost competitively, will meet the users' needs and are readily available. Organizations should buy the largest quantity of recycled materials possible (to reduce unit costs) and have the maximum number of vendors (to increase competition).

Ask - The customer must request recycled products from manufacturers and vendors.

Specifications - Organizations should change specifications for recycled products to eliminate barriers to using the products and providing incentives. This includes the highest minimum content standard and performance criteria that do not discriminate against recycled products.

Testing - Recycled products must be tested so that buyers and users will be comfortable that the products are high quality items that will meet their intended end use.

Contractors and Grantees - Organizations should include clauses to use recycled products in contracts such as printing, janitorial services, building construction and road construction.

Cooperative Purchasing - By buying products cooperatively (both within the organization and in cooperation with other organizations), unit prices for recycled products will be reduced.

Closed Loop Recycling - Buy recycled programs should be coordinated with existing collection efforts so that, where possible, the organization is buying products manufactured from the recycled raw materials.

Waste Prevention - Organizations should not limit themselves to buying products with recycled content. They should also buy products that are recyclable, more durable, reusable, use less energy, have less toxic materials, and have less packaging and waste.

Record Keeping and Evaluation - Agencies should keep good records on their purchases of recycled products to provide reports to their supervisors and customers, to share information on successes and to provide baseline data to evaluate the program and determine ways to improve it.