State Acquisition of Recycled Products

The California Public Contract Code, in Division 2, Part 2, Chapter 2, contains a number of required purchases of recycled goods and products in contracting by state agencies.

Article 7.6 provides for recycled oil markets. Section 10405 provides definitions for the following terms: “department,” “industrial oil,” “lubricating oil,” “procuring agency,” “recycled oil,” “used oil,” and “virgin oil.”

Section 10406 requires every procuring agency to continuously review and revise its procedures and specifications for the purchase of lubricating oil and industrial oil to eliminate any exclusion of recycled oils and any requirement that oils be manufactured from virgin materials. This section does not prohibit a local agency from purchasing virgin oil products for exclusive use in vehicles whose warranties expressly prohibit the use of products containing recycled oil.

Section 10407 requires every procuring agency to require that purchases of lubricating oil and industrial oil be made from the seller whose oil product contains the greater percentage of recycled oil, unless the procuring agency certifies that a specific oil product containing recycled oil is any of three specified items.

Section 10408 requires every procuring agency to establish and maintain an affirmative program for procuring oils containing the maximum content of recycled oil. This section also specifies the component parts of an affirmative program.

Section 10409 requires every local agency to purchase lubricating oil and industrial oil from the seller whose oil product contains the greater percentage of recycled oil, if the availability, fitness, quality, and price of the recycled oil product is otherwise equal to, or better than, virgin oil products. This section does not prohibit a local agency from purchasing virgin oil products for exclusive use in vehicles whose warranties expressly prohibit the use of products containing recycled oil.

Article 2 of Chapter 4 deals with recycled paper products. Section 12164.5 declares that it is the intent of the Legislature that for the current state waste paper collection program, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery is required to provide participating locations with public information awareness and training to state and legislative employees.

Section 12165 requires CalRecycle, after implementing a recycling plan, to establish, implement, and maintain a recycling plan for the Legislature, which may include all legislative offices and individual members’ district offices; all state offices whether in state-owned buildings or leased facilities in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Francisco Counties; and in any other areas that the board determines to be feasible. The plan has to include specified provisions.

In addition, CalRecycle has to provide participating locations with public awareness information and training to state and legislative employees, including the proper separation and disposal of recyclable resources. Additionally, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery is required to provide training for personnel, including state buildings and grounds personnel, responsible for the collection of waste materials. 

Section 12166 allows the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to contract as necessary for the recycling of products which have been returned. Section 12167.1 specifies that proceeds received from the implementation of the recycling plan or any other activity involving the collection and sale of recyclable materials in state and legislative offices located in state-owned and state-leased buildings, including the sale of waste materials through recycling programs, must be utilized to offset program recycling costs.

Article 3 deals with compost and co-compost products. Section 12180 contains legislative findings and declarations that it is the policy of the state to encourage the use of marketable end products which are produced as a result of superior waste management by counties, cities, and local agencies.

Section 12183 requires all state departments and agencies to give purchase preference to compost and co-compost products when they can be substituted for, and cost no more than, the cost of regular fertilizer or soil amendment products, or both, if the co-compost products meet all applicable state standards and regulations, as determined by appropriate testing. The product preference must include the construction of noise attenuation barriers and safety walls, highway planting projects, and recultivation and erosion control programs.

Section 12184 provides that it is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this article, that the revenues derived from the state purchase of co-compost products will be used by counties, cities, and local agencies to offset the costs of construction, operation, and maintenance of co-compost waste disposal facilities.

Article 3 of Chapter 5 deals with recycled materials, goods, and supplies for procurement by the Legislature. Section 12320 mandates the Legislature to require contractors to certify in writing to the contracting officer, or his or her representative, whether the materials, goods, or supplies offered contain the minimum percentage of recycled product. The contractor must specify the minimum, if not exact, percentage of recycled product in the product, both the secondary and postconsumer material content. This certification is to be furnished under penalty of perjury.

In addition, the Legislature is required to review and revise the procurement specifications used by the Legislature in order to eliminate discrimination against the procurement or purchase of recycled products whenever quality of a recycled product is reasonably equal to the same product manufactured with virgin resources. The Legislature also has to establish purchasing practices that ensure, to the maximum extent feasible, the purchase of materials, goods, and supplies that may be recycled or reused when discarded.

The Legislature is required to give purchase preference to recycled products when all three specified conditions apply. To encourage the use of postconsumer waste, the Legislature’s specifications must require recycled product contracts to be awarded to the bidder whose product contains the greater percentage of postconsumer material if the fitness and quality and price meet the goals.