Regulatory Background for the Comprehensive Procurement Guideline Program (CPG)
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Program Background
The Comprehensive Procurement Guideline (CPG) program is part of EPA's Sustainable Materials Management initiative that promotes a system approach to reducing materials use and the associated environmental impacts over the materials’ entire life cycle.
The CPG program is authorized by Congress under Section 6002 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (42 U.S.C. 6965) and Executive Order 13693, “Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade.” In addition, the Executive Order requires Federal agencies to measure, report, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution from agency operations to reduce waste, increase efficiency, and cut costs.
CPG continues the effort to promote the use of materials recovered from the municipal solid waste stream. Buying products made with recovered materials ensures that the materials collected in recycling programs will be used again in the manufacture of new products. There are 61 products designated in eight categories. EPA has no plans to designate additional CPG products at this time.
EPA is required to designate products that are or can be made with recovered materials, and to recommend practices for buying these products. Once a product is designated, procuring agencies are required to purchase it with the highest recovered material content level practicable. EPA publishes recommended recycled-content levels in a Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN) in the Federal Register.
Recovered Materials Advisory Notices
As part of the CPG designation process, EPA publishes supporting documentation and background information. In particular, with each new group of proposed items, EPA publishes recommended recycled-content levels in a Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN) in the Federal Register. The RMANs recommend recycled-content ranges for CPG products based on information on commercially available recycled-content products. To access RMAN levels for all CPG items, see the Consolidated RMAN. From the second table below, you can link to the final designated item lists, technical background documents, and Federal Register notices developed for each update of the CPG and RMAN.
EPA issued its first five guidelines from 1983-1989, for the procurement of products containing recovered materials as listed in the table below:
| Guideline | 40 CFR Part | Date (FR) |
|---|---|---|
| Cement and Concrete Containing Fly Ash | 249 | Jan. 28, 1983 (48 FR 4230) |
| Paper and Paper Products | 250 | June 22, 1988 (53 FR 23546) |
| Re-Refined Lubricating Oils | 252 | June 30, 1988 (53 FR 24699) |
| Retread Tires | 253 | Nov. 17, 1988 (53 FR 46558) |
| Building Insulation | 248 | Feb. 17, 1989 (54 FR 7327) |
In 1995, EPA issued CPG I which consolidated the Code of Federal Regulations for EPA's original five procurement guidelines above and an additional 19 products into 40 CFR Part 247 (eliminating them from 248, 249, 250, 252, and 253). The next CPG update (CPG II), published in November of 1997, designated an additional 12 items. A third CPG update (CPG III), published in January 2000, designated an additional 18 items. A fourth CPG update (CPG IV), published in April 2004, designated an additional seven items and revised three existing item designations. A fifth CPG update (CPG V), published in September 2007, designated one new item and revised another designation. No new designations have been published since 2007.
| DESIGNATION/ RMAN | DATE PUBLISHED | FEDERAL REGISTER | ACTION TAKEN | Technical Background Documents | Other Supporting Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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CPG I |
May 1, 1995 |
CPG I Designated Products: 19 new items (Engine coolants, Structural fiberboard, Laminated paperboard, Cement/concrete containing ground granulated blast furnace slag, Carpet, Floor tiles, Patio blocks, Traffic barricades, Traffic cones, Playground Surfaces, Running Tracks, Hydraulic Mulch, Yard Trimmings Compost, Office recycling containers, Office waste receptacles, Plastic desktop accessories, Remanufactured toner cartridges, Binders, Plastic Trash Bags), plus five earlier procurement guidelines (Cement and Concrete Containing Fly Ash, Paper and Paper Products, Re-Refined Lubricating Oils, Retread Tires, Building Insulation) |
Items Designated in the Comprehensive Procurement Guideline - Supporting Analyses |
Docket number: EPA-HQ-RCRA-1995-0059 | |
|
RMAN I |
May 1, 1995 |
Provided recommended recovered materials content levels for the 19 new items in CPG I. |
RMAN for Items Designated in the Comprehensive Procurement Guideline—Supporting Analyses | Docket number: EPA-HQ-RCRA-1995-0064 | |
|
Paper RMAN I |
May 29, 1996 |
Updated and expanded the Agency's recommendations for purchasing paper and paper products containing postconsumer and recovered fiber. In June 1988, EPA published its original guideline on buying recycled paper. In May 1996, EPA published the Paper RMAN I which updated and expanded the Agency’s recommendations for purchasing paper and paper products containing postconsumer and recovered fiber. The recommendations include the postconsumer-content levels for printing and writing papers established by President Clinton in Executive Order 12873, which was subsequently replaced by Executive Order 13101. The Paper RMAN covers products typically used by public and private sector purchasers including printing/writing paper, newsprint, tissue products, paperboard, and packaging. It includes definitions, recycled-content recommendations, and recommendations for related issues such as how manufacturers should measure the recycled content of a paper product. |
Docket number: EPA-HQ-RCRA-1996-0062 | ||
|
CPG II |
November 13, 1997 |
CPG II Designated Products: 12 new items (Shower and restroom dividers/partitions, Consolidated and reprocessed latex paint for specified uses, Parking stops, Channelizers, Delineators, Flexible delineators, Plastic fencing for specified uses, Garden and soaker hoses, Lawn and garden edging, Printer ribbons, Plastic envelopes, Pallets) |
Summary of Comments of the Proposed CPG II Minutes, Ex Parte Meeting Between EPA and the National Paint & Coatings Association Telephone Notes, Testing of Reprocessed/ Consolidated Latex Paint Economic Impact Analysis for the Final Comprehensive Procurement Guideline II Docket number: EPA-HQ-RCRA-1997-0008 |
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RMAN II |
November 13, 1997 |
Provides recommended recovered materials content levels for the 12 new items in CPG II and other purchasing recommendations. Also clarifies recommendations for floor tiles previously made in RMAN I. |
Final CPG II/RMAN II Background Document |
Docket number: EPA-HQ-RCRA-1997-0005 |
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RMAN I Update |
June 8, 1998 |
Contains a new reference to GSA's carpet schedule and a recommendation for the recovered materials content level for plastic batt building insulation. |
Docket number: EPA-HQ-RCRA-1998-0067 |
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Paper RMAN II |
June 8, 1998 |
Revised the Paper RMAN I recommendations for purchasing uncoated printing and writing papers containing postconsumer fiber. |
Availability of Uncoated Printing and Writing Papers Containing 30 Percent Postconsumer Fiber - This report summarizes the results of research conducted on the anticipated availability of uncoated printing and writing papers containing 30 percent postconsumer fiber, as of December 31, 1998. |
Docket number: EPA-HQ-RCRA-1998-0059 |
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CPG III |
January 19, 2000 |
CPG III Designated Products: 18 new items (Carpet cushion, Flowable fill, Railroad grade crossing surfaces, Park benches and picnic tables, Playground equipment, Food waste compost, Plastic lumber landscaping timbers and posts, Solid plastic binders, Plastic clipboards, Plastic file folders, Plastic clip portfolios, Plastic presentation folders, Sorbents, Industrial drums, Awards and plaques, Mats, Signage, including sign supports and posts, Manual-grade strapping) |
Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines III—Background Document |
Docket number: EPA-HQ-RCRA-2000-0010 |
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RMAN III |
January 19, 2000 |
Contains recommended recovered materials content levels for the 18 new items in CPG III and provides other purchasing recommendations. RMAN III also contains revised recovered materials content recommendations for steel shower and restroom dividers/partitions, steel recycling containers and waste receptacles, and the steel components of traffic barricades and delineators. |
Docket number: EPA-HQ-RCRA-2000-0003 |
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CPG IV |
April 30, 2004 |
CPG IV Designated Products: seven new items (Modular threshold ramps, Nonpressure pipe, Roofing materials, Office furniture, Rebuilt vehicular parts, Bike racks, Blasting Grit), three revised (cement and concrete, railroad grade crossing surfaces, and polyester carpet) |
Background Document for the Final Comprehensive Procurement Guideline (CPG) IV and Final Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN) IV |
Appendices for Final CPG IV and Final RMAN IV Background Document Economic Impact Analysis for the Final Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines IV Docket number: EPA-HQ-RCRA-2001-0047 |
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RMAN IV |
April 30, 2004 |
Contains recommendations for purchasing the 7 new items and 3 revised items in CPG IV. Also contains revised recommendations for two other previously designated items. |
Docket number: EPA-HQ-RCRA-2001-0047 CPG IV/RMAN IV Carpet Notice of Data Availability (July 16, 2003) |
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CPG V |
September 14, 2007 |
CPG V Designated Products: One new item (compost made from recovered organic materials), One revised In order to foster and support markets for recycled-content products, EPA is adjusting the Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) Landscaping Products category and providing guidance through a Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN). Two changes are being made: EPA is changing the description of “compost” by consolidating all compost designations under one item designation: “compost made from recovered organic materials.” The old description of compost referred to compost made from yard trimmings and food waste. The revised description still includes compost made from yard trimmings and food waste but also includes compost made from biosolids and manure and does not limit the designation to those four specific types of recovered organic materials. EPA is adding “fertilizer made from recovered materials” as a designated landscaping item. |
CPG V Background Document |
Economic Impact Analysis for the Final Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines V Docket number: EPA-HQ-RCRA-2003-0005 |
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RMAN V |
September 14, 2007 |
Contains recommendations for purchasing one new item and one revised item in CPG V. EPA is also providing companion guidance to procuring agencies for purchasing compost and fertilizers made from recovered organic materials through the Recovered Materials Advisory Notice V (RMAN V). RMAN V will recommend specifications to assist procuring agencies in fulfilling their statutory obligation to purchase designated items with the highest percentage of recovered materials content practicable. Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), procuring agencies will be required to begin purchasing the newly-designated items within one year from the date that this rule is published in the Federal Register. |
Docket number: EPA-HQ-RCRA-2003-0006 |