S02 ATTACHMENT D.38 - 90-08 SOP AFFIRMATIVE_PROCUREMENT_RECYCLING_AND_WASTE_POLLUTION_PREVENTION_PROGRAMS.pdf

Affirmative Procurement, Recycling, and Waste/Pollution Prevention Programs

SOP 90-08

Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks Fayetteville, AR 72703

Service Line(s):

Logistics Service

Signatory Authority:

Facility Chief Supply Chain Officer

Effective Date:

September 28, 2020

Responsible Owner:

Facility Chief Supply Chain Officer

Recertification Date September 28, 2020

1. PURPOSE AND AUTHORITY

a. The purpose of this standard operating procedure (SOP) is to ensure that facilities are in full compliance with environmental regulations and are operated and managed in such a way as to result in the continual improvement of the environmental program. The following Executive Orders (EO) govern these programs at Fayetteville VHSO and the Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs):

b. Veterans Healthcare Administration (VHA) facilities are required to develop Affirmative Procurement, Recycling, and Waste/Pollution Prevention Programs. Field stations are required to develop and implement environmental management systems.

c. Executive Order (EO) 13423, Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and

Transportation Management

d. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Section 6002.

e. It is the policy of VHSO to integrate environmental accountability into agency day-to-day decision-making and long-term planning processes, across the facility mission, activities, and functions. Environmental management considerations must be a fundamental and integral component of Federal Government policies, operations, planning and management.

f. It is the policy of VHSO to purchase the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) designated comprehensive procurement guideline (CPG) products in lieu of purchase virgin material products in accordance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Section 6002.

g. In developing plans, drawings, work statements, specifications, or other product descriptions, the facility will consider, as appropriate, a broad range of factors including:

elimination of virgin material requirements; use of bio-based products; use of recovered materials; reuse of product; life cycle cost; recyclability; use of environmentally preferable products; promote cost-effective, environmentally sound landscaping practices, and programs to reduce adverse impacts to the natural environment;

September 28, 2020 90-08 waste/pollution prevention (including toxicity reduction or elimination); and ultimate disposal. These factors should be considered in acquisition planning for all procurement and in the evaluation and award of contracts, as appropriate. Program and acquisition managers should take an active role in these activities.

h. When developing, reviewing, or revising Federal and military specifications, product descriptions (including commercial item descriptions), and standards, the facility will consider recovered materials and any environmentally preferable purchasing criteria developed by the EPA, and ensure the criteria is complied with in developing or revising standards.

i. The facility shall purchase, sell, or arrange for the purchase of, printing and writing paper that meets the minimum requirements of this section.

j. The facility shall implement the EPA procurement guidelines for re-refined lubricating oil and retread tires. Engineering Service shall take steps, as appropriate, to procure these items in accordance with section 6002 of RCRA.

k. In addition to white paper, mixed paper/cardboard, aluminum, plastic, and glass, agencies should incorporate into their recycling programs efforts to recycle, reuse, or refurbish pallets and collect toner cartridges for remanufacturing. The facility will reduce or recycle, as appropriate, batteries, scrap metal, and fluorescent lamps and ballasts.

l. The facility will increase the procurement of products that are made with recovered materials in order to maximize the number of recycled products purchased, relative to non-recycled alternatives.

2. PROCEDURES

a. Environmental Protection Agency’s Comprehensive Procurement Guideline (CPG) product categories are as follows:

(1) Paper and Paper Products: Uncoated printing/writing paper, coated printing/writing paper, bristols, newsprint, tissue and towel products, paperboard and packaging, miscellaneous paper products. Purchase paper and paper products that contain a minimum of 30 percent post-consumer materials unless it is not reasonably available, does not meet reasonable performance requirements, or is not available at a reasonable price. Twenty percent post-consumer materials are acceptable if the above exception applies. Refrain from specifying coated papers, brand name papers, and other specialty or fancy grades of paper for products with a limited useful life such as annual reports, catalogs, training materials, and telephone directories. Newsprint containing recycled content should be considered for most limited-life documents.

Minimum Content Standard for Printing and Writing Paper: The following minimum content standards for printing and writing paper will be met or exceeded when purchased by the facility: For high speed copier paper, offset paper, forms bond, computer printout paper, carbonless paper, file folders, white wove envelopes, writing and office paper, book paper, cotton fiber paper, and cover stock, the minimum content standard shall be no less than 30 percent post-consumer materials. If paper containing

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30 percent post-consumer material is not reasonably available, does not meet reasonable performance requirements, or is only available at an unreasonable price, then the facility shall purchase paper containing no less than 20 percent post-consumer material.

(2) Vehicular Products: Re-refined lubricating oils, retread tires, engine coolants are vehicular products. Re-refined lubricated oil bearing the American Petroleum Institute (API) Starburst symbol is acceptable for use in General Services Administration (GSA) fleet management vehicles and will not void manufacturer’s warranties.

(3) Construction Products: Cement and concrete containing coal fly ash, cement and concrete containing ground granulated blast furnace (GGBF) slag, structural fiberboard, laminated paperboard, polyester carpet (face fiber), floor tiles (heavy duty/commercial use), patio blocks, building insulation products, shower and restroom dividers, latex paint, carpet cushion, railroad grade crossing surfaces. All applicable statements of work, procurement requests, and grants involving the purchase of cement and concrete shall specify the performance requirements of such products using appropriate preference standards.

(4) Transportation Products: Traffic cones, traffic barricades, channelizers, delineators, flexible delineators. All applicable statements of work, procurement requests, and grants involving the purchase of transportation products shall specify the performance requirements for such products using appropriate preference standards.

(5) Park and Recreation Products: Playground surfaces, running tracks, plastic fencing, park benches and picnic tables, playground equipment are park and recreation products. All applicable statements of work, procurement requests, and grants involving the purchase of transportation products shall specify the performance requirements for such products using appropriate preference standards.

(6) Landscaping Products: Hydraulic mulch, compost made from yard trimmings and/or food waste, garden hoses, soaker hoses, lawn and garden edging, plastic lumber landscaping timbers and posts. All applicable statements of work, procurement requests, and grants involving the purchase of landscaping products shall specify the performance requirements for such products using appropriate preference standards.

(7) Non-Paper Office Products: Office recycling containers and office waste receptacles, plastic desktop accessories, toner cartridges, bonders, solid plastic binders, plastic trash bags, printer ribbons, plastic envelopes, plastic clipboards, plastic file folders, plastic clip portfolios, plastic presentation folders. Purchases of toner cartridges shall specify recycled cartridges that are available from GSA or other Federal sources. Purchases of toner cartridges for use in laser printers, photocopiers, facsimile machines, or micrographic printers may give preference to remanufactured toner cartridges made in the United States by small businesses and recycled toner unless it is determined in writing that:

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(8) Remanufactured or recycled cartridges are not available within time frames needed.

(9) Market research establishes that remanufactured or recycled toner cartridges for the type of equipment used do not exist.

(10) The price or life-cycle cost offered for the cartridge is higher than the cost of a new cartridge.

(11) Miscellaneous Products: Pallets, sorbents, industrial drums, awards and plaques, mats, signs, sign supports and posts, manual-grade strapping. Soy-based inks have been determined to be more environmentally sound than petroleum-based inks, produce less hazardous waste, and are less vaporous than petroleum-based inks. In addition to environmental advantages, soy-based inks dry quickly on a variety of paper stock, have excellent smudge resistance, and area readily available as an American agricultural product. Therefore, soy-based inks shall be used for all in-house and contracted printing, to the maximum extent possible.

(12) Once items containing recovered materials have been designated by the EPA in the CPG, the facility will modify their affirmative procurement programs to require that, to the maximum extent practicable, their purchases of products meet or exceed the EPA guidelines unless written justification is provided that is not available competitively, not available within a reasonable time frame, does not meet appropriate performance standards, or is only available at an unreasonable price.

3. ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES

a. The Service Chief is responsible for the following:

(1) Ensure items containing recovered materials are considered and provide an explanation to the contracting officer when items containing recovered materials or meeting the guideline recommendations (e.g., minimum-content standard) are not desired.

(2) Ensure that their purchase of designated products meet or exceed the EPA guidelines unless written justification is provided that a product is not available competitively within a reasonable time frame, does not meet appropriate performance standards, or is only available at an unreasonable price. Written justification is not required for purchases below the micro purchase threshold.

(3) Complete and provide to the Contracting Officer, VA Form 0232, Procurement Request for Items Containing Recovered Materials, justifying why items containing recovered materials are not available.

(4) Provide a report to Logistics Operations Management Service on an annual basis when the purchase price of the designated items exceeds $10,000 or where the quantity of such item or functionally equivalent items purchased in the course of the preceding fiscal year was worth $10,000 or more.

http://vaww4.va.gov/vaforms/va/pdf/VA0232.pdf

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(5) Ensure all applicable employees receive annual training to ensure awareness of the requirements of this memorandum.

(6) Purchase cardholders are responsible for the following

(a) Purchase environmentally preferable products when possible.

(b) Purchases of EPA-designated guideline items shall be documented and tracked at program level for reporting purposes.

(c) Include life-cycle and environmental cost analyses when making decisions about products and/or services to reduce Federal Government’s cost and energy consumption.

b. Engineering Service is responsible for the following

(1) When drafting and revising specifications, Engineering Service shall ensure that such specifications:

(a) Do not contain prohibitions against the use of recovered materials;

(b) Do not require the item to be manufactured from virgin materials; and,

(c) Require the use of recovered materials to the maximum extent possible.

(d) When landscaping facility grounds, utilize environmentally preferable and recycled content products, including EPA-designated items such as compost and mulch that contribute to environmentally and economically beneficial practices.

c. Chief, Purchasing and Contracting is responsible for the following:

(1) Contracting officers are responsible for inclusion of Federal Acquisition Regulation solicitation provision 52-223-4, Recovered Material Certification in all solicitations that incorporate specifications requiring the use of recovered materials.

Additionally, the certification percentage of recovered materials supplied will be included in all solicitations, as applicable.

(2) Contracts that provide for contractor operation of a Government-owned or leased facility and/or contracts that provide for contractor or other support services at Government-owned or-operated facilities awarded by executive agencies after the date of this order, shall include provisions that obligate the contractor to comply with the requirements of this memorandum.

(3) The inclusion of environmental and recycling provisions in the acquisition and management of all leased space and in the construction of new Federal buildings.

(4) Case-by-Case Policy Development. A policy of awarding contracts to the vendor offering an item composed of the highest percentage of recovered materials practicable

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(and in the case of paper, the highest percentage of the post-consumer recovered materials. Subject to such limitations, agencies may make an award to a vendor offering items with less than the maximum recovered materials content.

(5) Minimum Content Standards. Minimum recovered materials content specifications which are set in such a way as to assure that the recovered materials content (and in the case of paper, the content of post-consumer materials) required is the maximum available without jeopardizing the intended end use of the item.

(6) Procurement personnel will require vendors to provide an estimate of the total recycled content of their products and certify that the recycled content will meet minimum content standards (recycled content is usually measured as a percentage of the total content) on EPA designated items.

(7) The contracting officer will include the Veterans Affairs (VA) Form 0232, Procurement Request for Items Containing Recovered Materials, in the contract file.

4. DEFINITIONS

a. “Acquisition” means the acquiring by contract with appropriated funds for supplies or services (including construction) by and for the use of the Federal Government through purchase or lease, whether the supplies or services are already in existence or must be created, developed, demonstrated, and evaluated. Acquisition begins at the point when agency needs are established and includes the description of requirements to satisfy agency needs, solicitation and selection of sources, award of contracts, contract financing, contract performance, contract administration, and those technical and management functions directly related to the process of fulfilling agency needs by contract.

b. Affirmative Procurement Program (APP): A program that assures items composed of recovered materials will be purchased to the maximum extent practicable, consistent with Federal procurement law. An APP consists of four components:

(1) Procurement Preference Program.

(2) Preference Program for Other than Designated Items.

(3) Promotion Program.

(4) Annual Review and Monitoring.

c. “Biobased produce” means a commercial or industrial product (other than food or feed) that utilizes biological products or renewable domestic agricultural (plant, animal, and marine) or forestry materials.

d. Designated Item: An item that has been designated in an EPA procurement guideline that is, or can be, produced using recovered materials. The EPA has identified five items that are, or can be, produced using recovered materials. Those items are

September 28, 2020 90-08 paper and paper products, cement and concrete, building insulation, lubricating oils, and tires.

e. “Environmentally preferable” means products or services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose. This comparison may consider raw materials acquisition, production, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, reuse, operation, maintenance, or disposal of the product or service.

f. Environmentally Sound: A product or service that minimizes damage to the environment and is less harmful to the environment to use, maintain, and dispose of in comparison to a competing product or service.

g. “Life cycle assessment” means the comprehensive examination of a product’s environmental and economic aspects and potential impacts throughout its lifetime, including raw material extraction, transportation, manufacturing, use, and disposal.

h. “Life cycle cost” means the amortized annual cost of a product, including capital costs, installation costs, operating costs, maintenance costs, and disposal costs discounted over the lifetime of the product.

i. Minimum-Content Standard: The minimum amount of recovered material that a designated item must contain. Minimum-content standards must be included in specifications that include designated items.

j. “Pollution prevention” means “source reduction” as defined in the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 (42 United States Code (U.S.C.) 13102), and other practices that reduce or eliminate the creation of pollutants through: (a) increased efficiency in the use of raw materials, energy, water, or other resources; or (b) protection of natural resources by conservation.

k. “Post-Consumer material” means a material or finished product that has served its intended use and has been discarded for disposal or recovery, having completed its life as a consumer item. “Post-Consumer material” is a part of the broader category of “recovered material.”

l. Post-Consumer Waste: A material or product that has served its intended use and has been discarded for disposal after passing through the hands of a final user.

Post-consumer waste is part of the broader category of “recycled material.”

m. Procurement Guidelines: Guidelines issued by the EPA that identify items that are, or can be, produced with recovered materials and where procurement of such items will advance the objectives of the Act.

n. Recycled Cartridge: A laser printer, photocopier, or micro photographic toner cartridge which has been remanufactured in the United States by a small-business concern and certified by an independent laboratory to meet generally accepted industry standards.

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o. Recycled Material: A material that can be utilized in place of raw or virgin material in manufacturing a product and consists of materials derived from post-consumer waste, industrial scrap, material derived from agricultural waste, and other items, all of which can be used in the manufacture of new products.

p. “Recovered materials” means waste materials and by-products that have been recovered or diverted from solid waste, but such term does not include those materials and by-products generated from, and commonly reused within, an original manufacturing process (42 U.S.C. 6903 (19)).

q. “Recyclability” means the ability of a product or material to be recovered from, or otherwise diverted from, the solid waste stream for the purpose of recycling.

r. “Recycling” means the series of activities, including collection, separation, and processing, by which products or other materials are recovered from the solid waste stream for use in the form of raw materials in the manufacture of new products other than fuel for producing heat or power by combustion.

s. “Waste prevention” means preventing or decreasing the amount of waste being generated through waste prevention, recycling, or purchasing recycled and environmentally preferable products.

t. “Waste reduction” means preventing or decreasing the amount of waste being generated through waste prevention, recycling, or purchasing recycled and environmentally preferable products.

5. REFERENCES

a. Veterans Affairs Directive 0052, Affirmative Procurement, Recycling, and Waste/Pollution Prevention Programs, https://www.va.gov/vapubs/viewPublication.asp?Pub_ID=473&FType=2

b. VA Handbook 0051, Affirmative Procurement, Recycling, and Waste/Pollution Prevention Programs https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?Do cumentId=510748&FileName=VA244-13-R-0051-014.pdf

c. Executive Order (EO) 13101, Greening the Government, A Guide to Implementing E) 13101, https://www.fedcenter.gov/Bookmarks/index.cfm?id=47

d. Excecutive Order (EO) 13148, Greening the Government Through Leadership in Environmental Management, https://www.govinfo.gov/link/cpd/executiveorder/13148

e. Excecutive Order (EO) 13123, Greening the Government Through Leadership in Environmental Management, https://www.fedcenter.gov/Bookmarks/index.cfm?id=46&pge_id=1606 https://www.va.gov/vapubs/viewPublication.asp?Pub_ID=473&FType=2 https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=510748&FileName=VA244-13-R-0051-014.pdf https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=510748&FileName=VA244-13-R-0051-014.pdf https://www.fedcenter.gov/Bookmarks/index.cfm?id=47 https://www.govinfo.gov/link/cpd/executiveorder/13148 https://www.fedcenter.gov/Bookmarks/index.cfm?id=46&pge_id=1606

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f. Excecutive Order (EO) 13149, Greening the Government Through Federal Fleet and Transportation Efficiency; and, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Section 6002, https://www.fedcenter.gov/Bookmarks/index.cfm?id=58&pge_prg_id=40072&pge_id=16

6. REVIEW

None.

7. RECERTIFICATION

This SOP is scheduled for recertification on September 28, 2025. In the event of contradiction with national policy, the national policy supersedes and controls.

8. SIGNING AUTHORITY

X James E. Brown

Facility Chief Supply Chain Officer

Note: The signature remains valid until rescinded by an appropriate administrative action.

DISTRIBUTION: Intranet https://www.fedcenter.gov/Bookmarks/index.cfm?id=58&pge_prg_id=40072&pge_id=1653 https://www.fedcenter.gov/Bookmarks/index.cfm?id=58&pge_prg_id=40072&pge_id=1653