Procurement Policy for Recycled Products

Policy Number: OCP 600-06


All Divisions shall, whenever practical, use recycled products and recyclable materials to meet their needs. Procurement Services shall encourage vendors, contractors, and consultants to use recycled and recyclable products to fulfill contractual obligations to the college. In procuring designated products through the competitive bidding process pursuant to Washington state law, Procurement Services shall request recovered material and/or post-consumer material content to be a factor in determining the lowest responsive and responsible bid. Bids offering products containing recovered material shall receive a 10% preference in accordance with WAC 236.48.096. Olympic College shall promote the use of recycled and recyclable products by distributing the published procurement policy as well as disseminating information about recycled products.

Glossary of Terms

Bid: A written offer to perform a contract to purchase or supply goods and/or services in response to an Invitation to Bid.

Consultant: A person who is professional or technical advice.

Contractor: Individual, company, corporation, or any other type business entity with whom the college develops a contract for the procurement of goods and services.

Designated Product: Any product that has been or may be identified as a commodity and can be procured with significant levels of recovered materials. Designated products shall initially include paper and paper products and composted yard or landscape waste products

Division: Any group of departments under a single Director and/or Dean at the college. (Example: Administrative Services, Business Services, Student Services, BERO, etc.)

Post-consumer content: Product manufactured with materials generated from residential and commercial waste.

Procurement: The process used to purchase goods and services.

Recovered Material: Material and byproducts that have been recovered or diverted from solid waste; but does not include those materials or products generated from and reused within an original manufacturing process.

Recycled Designated: Products that meet the minimum content standards established by Washington state and Federal E.P.A. guidelines.

Recyclable Product: Commodities that are separated for recycling or reuse.

Recycled Product: Product or commodities manufactured from recovered material that meets or surpasses established minimum content standards pursuant to Washington state and Federal E.P.A. guidelines.

Reusable Product: Product that can be used several times before being discarded, such as a washable food or beverage container, refillable ball point pen, or rechargeable laser print cartridge.

Vendor: Individual, company, corporation, or any other type business entity that sells goods and services to the college.

Bids and Quotations

Invitations to Bid or Request for Quotations issued by Olympic College after _____________for tangible goods, shall contain no terms, conditions or specifications that prohibit or discourage post-consumer or recovered material content, unless the requisitioning Division provides the Purchasing Manager with satisfactory justification that, for technical reasons, a product containing such materials will not meet reasonable performance standards.

Lowest Responsive and Responsible Bid Determination

In determining the lowest responsive and responsible bid for the purchase of designated products relevant to bids and quotations issued after_______, the Purchasing Manager shall use the procedures and evaluation criteria as set forth in this Procurement Policy. If the lowest offered price for a recycled designated product is not more than ~ higher than the lowest offered price for the same product that is not recycled, the recycled product shall get the award provided the bidder is otherwise responsive and responsible.

To be responsive and receive the 10% preference, products bid must contain minimum recovered material content as set forth in the U.s. Environmental Protection Agency Guidelines and bidders must provide with their bid a certification of recycled content from the manufacturer of the goods.

Guidelines for Procurement

These guidelines apply to the purchase of any product or commodity costing more than $10,000.00 in the current fiscal year or of functionally equivalent items during the preceding fiscal year.

  1. Paper and Paper Products
    1. The recycled procurement goal for Olympic College will be expressed as a percentage of the total volume of paper purchased each fiscal year. By June 30th of each fiscal year, the targeted percentage goal shall be: 25% in 1992, 35% in 1993 and 50% in 1995.
    2. The Purchasing Manager shall use minimum content standards for recycled paper products consistent with guidelines promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and established by the Washington State Legislature unless it is determined that a different standard would significantly increase recycled product availability and/or competition.
    3. A percentage factor of at least 15% shall be used in the process of determining the lowest responsive bidder for paper and paper products.
    4. In response to Invitation to Bid or Request for Quotations, the bidder must provide certification of recycled content from the manufacturer of the product.
    5. To reduce the volume of paper purchased, the Purchasing Department strongly suggests that all Divisions commit to using both sides of paper sheets.
    6. Reports submitted to Olympic College by contractors, consultants, or other business entities shall use both sides of paper sheets when practical and use recycled paper when it is available at a reasonable price. The price of recycled paper is considered "reasonable" if its cost is not more than fifteen percent higher than the lowest price offered for non-recycled paper.
  2. Food Service Supplies
    1. The Purchasing Manager in conjunction with the Food Services staff shall review all commodities currently used by Food Services and commit to increasing the recycled/recyclable products purchases.
    2. The use of reusable containers should be adhered to whenever practical for replacement of disposable food and beverage containers.
  3. Grounds and Landscape Materials
    1. The requisitioning department shall review specifications for grounds and landscape materials to ensure that specifications do not discriminate against recycled products. Specifications shall be based on specific standards and performance requirements as organic content, percentage of contaminants, or moisture content.
    2. The Division shall purchase recycled grounds and landscape materials to the maximum extent practical before purchasing non-recycled products.
    3. In response to Invitations to Bid or Request for Quotations, the bidder must provide a certification of recycled content from the manufacturer of the product.
  4. Janitorial Supplies
    1. The Purchasing Manager, in conjunction with the Custodial Supervisor, shall review all products used by the custodians and replace non-recycled and non-recyclable products with recycled/recyclable products where practical.
    2. The Purchasing Manager and Custodial Supervisor shall pursue the minimization of product purchases that are classified as hazardous materials through the replacement of toxic products with non-toxic products that meet reasonable performance standards.
  5. Automotive, Physical Plant and Scientific Supplies
    1. All Divisions shall, whenever practical, minimize product purchases that are classified as hazardous materials and review process procedures to determine which supplies can be replaced with non-toxic alternate products that meet reasonable performance standards.
  6. Equipment Purchases
    1. The Purchasing Manager, in conjunction with the Divisions, shall continue to
      research the marketplace for equipment alternatives that meet specification and performance standards relevant to the procurement policy’s goal to use more recycled and recyclable products.
  7. Bulk Packaging
    1. In order to reduce waste, bulk packaged products and equipment shall be specified whenever practical.

Division’s Responsibilities and Reporting Requirements

All Divisions are responsible for the following:

  1. Purchasing and using recycled products whenever practical
  2. Documenting any technical problems that prevent the use of recycled products and submitting the information to the Purchasing Manager when required.
  3. Providing written justification for not purchasing recycled products.
  4. Evaluating through comparative tests the performance of recycled vs. non-recycled products as requested by Purchasing Manager and vendors.
  5. Informing the purchasing Manager of potential uses of recycled products by vendors or contractors.

Purchasing Department Responsibilities

  1. Revise standard bid and contract language where necessary to implement this policy. Prepare, issue, evaluate, and award bids or quotations for recycled products.
  2. Update, as required, minimum content standards for designated recycled products.
  3. Submit annual report relevant to the Purchasing Department's compliance to the G.O.L.D. Plan (See section 10.)
  4. Provide materials and information regarding the availability of recycled products to the Divisions
  5. Attend recycling, waste reduction, and hazardous waste seminars and trade shows.
  6. Continue to lobby the Office of state Procurement and Central stores for more recycled products on state contracts.

Purchasing Report

Should be submitted annually to the Dean of Business Services and will include the following components

  1. Quantities of designated products purchased.
  2. Quantities and types of recycled products purchased.
  3. Determination on whether minimum content standards should be changed or remain the same.
  4. Summary of promotional efforts as education and training.
  5. Assessment and evaluation of the effectiveness of the procurement policy goals.
  6. Recommended changes in procurement policy including designation of additional products.

Exemptions

Nothing in this policy shall be construed as demanding a Division or vendor to purchase products that do not perform adequately for their intended use or are not available at a reasonable price and period of time. If any section of this Procurement Policy is declared invalid for any reason, that decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining sections of this policy.

  • Recommended by Judith E. Harris
  • Approved by Board of Trustees November 12, 1991