NIGP 08530: Bags, Mail

NIGP 08530 Bags, Mail is an Item code covering polyethylene mail and waste bags that state and local governments procure for internal operations, mail processing, and sanitation services. Recent solicitations show governments buying trash and recycle bags in bulk for municipal operations, postage metering and USPS-authorized mail processing equipment and services, and city-wide printing and mailing operations that include document finishing and envelope management. Issuing bodies span municipalities (cities of Richardson, Texas and Madison, Wisconsin), counties (Florida county government), and city utility departments (Madison Water Utility). The scope of work includes manufacturing and supplying bags to specification with firm pricing for initial contract terms, leasing postage metering equipment through authorized USPS providers, and integrated printing-and-mailing operations that combine document composition, insertion, color and monochrome output, and mail finishing services. Evaluation criteria across these procurements emphasize price competitiveness (typically 30 percent), technical and manufacturing capability including ASTM compliance testing and municipal contract history, and local vendor preference or geographic proximity where applicable.

Activity under the code appears concentrated in Texas and Wisconsin, with recent solicitations also from Florida. The City of Richardson, Texas issued an Invitation to Bid (ITB) for recycle and trash bags with an estimated annual expenditure of approximately $300,000, closing April 28, 2026, requiring bidders to maintain a physical business location within 100 miles of ZIP Code 75080 and submit samples with bids; a pre-bid conference was held via Zoom on April 7, 2026. The City of Madison, Wisconsin issued an RFP for city-wide printing and mailing services (closing April 3, 2026) including weekly printing for the Water Utility (approximately 580,000 pieces weekly) and monthly tax billing for the Finance Department (approximately 127,000 pieces monthly), structured as a two-year initial term with three one-year renewal options and awarding five local-vendor-preference points within a 35-point financial scoring component. A Florida county issued an RFI (closing July 1, 2026) regarding sole-source designation of Pitney Bowes Inc. for postage services and USPS-authorized mail processing, inviting competing vendors to challenge the designation or demonstrate comparable capabilities.