Sole Source Justification Bale Tracking and End Market Research signed.pdf

SOLE-SOURCE DETERMINATION AND JUSTIFICATION

FOR SUPPLIES AND SERVICES

OregonBuys Notice #S-34000-00014934

To: Brian Boling, Designated Procurement Officer

Department of Environmental Quality

From: Pete Pasterz, DEQ Land Quality Division, Materials Management Program

Agency Procurement Specialist: Stephanie Brandon

Date: September 17, 2025

Re: Sole Source Determination pursuant to Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 279B.075 and Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) 125-247-0275

Part A

1. Authority to enter into a Sole-Source Contract: OAR 125-246-0170(2)(c)(H)

2. Estimated Total Value of Contract: $250,000

3. Subject of Contract: Waste trade tracking and research

4. Background:

The State of Oregon, through its Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), is preparing to procure services from a contractor for conducting random bale tracking of waste collected for recycling to ascertain whether the waste is going to responsible end markets as required under the Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act (RMA), pursuant to ORS 459A.955(2)(h), ORS 459A.896(2), and

OAR 340-090-0670.

DEQ’s authority to conduct random bale tracking as part of the auditing for the responsible end market obligation is specifically outlined in OAR 340-090-0670(4). The responsible end market requirement lies at the heart of the RMA and results from the waste trade crisis of the 2010s, when it was exposed that some waste collected for recycling in the United States of America (US) was ending up in environmentally unfavorable disposition abroad – e.g., openly-burned, dumped into the ocean or into communities, etc. Basel Action Network (BAN), an observer organization at the Basel Convention (the United Nations treaty on transboundary movement of hazardous waste) that also provides waste tracking and recycling end market certification services, played a key role in exposing the problems with waste trade through the media, leveraging its broad network of partner organizations throughout the 188 Basel signatory nations.

Due to BAN’s unique qualifications and experience; waste tracking equipment; and BAN’s extensive, unparalleled, global network of on-the-ground site inspectors of recycling processing facilities, as well as the pilot nature of this project, DEQ is proposing to contract with BAN for waste trade tracking research services through a sole-source procurement.

In 2019 BAN partly curbed the flow of waste from the developed to the developing world by successfully advocating for the addition of a plastics amendment to the Basel Convention. Under that

Sole-Source Determination_rev01-31-24 Page 2 of 4 amendment, mixed-polymer plastic bales cannot be exported abroad, and clean plastic bales can only be exported with prior informed consent of the importing nation. However, the amendment does not apply to the US, which is among five global nations that remain outside the Convention. No treaty or federal law applicable to the United States holistically addresses the waste trade issue, but the responsible end market provisions in six state extended producer responsibility laws, including Oregon’s RMA, fill that gap. Under the RMA, all markets that process Oregon’s recyclables, regardless of location, must meet Oregon’s “responsible” standard, and disposition of Oregon recyclables must be tracked through to the end market or to disposal. As of July 1, 2025, Oregon has begun maintaining a list of facilities that meet the “responsible” standard.

It is DEQ’s intent to enter a contract with BAN by January 1, 2026, with the tracking and research extending over a two-year period through to the end of the first program plan period of the RMA, Due to recent push back attempts by affected industries to weaken the responsible markets standard in the RMA, DEQ desires an initial assessment to be completed early March, 2026 to coincide with the legislative short session.

This sole source justification applies to:

• operation of Oregon’s RMA tracking and auditing program, which will entail deployment of trackers into the waste stream and analysis of the individual trajectories of each tracker. All tracking will be accomplished using BAN’s provided hardware, with all analysis accomplished on their servers,

• on-the-ground research into locations not on Oregon’s responsible end market list that are revealed through tracking to have nevertheless received Oregon waste. Researchers would seek information as to whether or not these facilities are operating at or below Oregon’s responsible standard, and

• synthesis of summarized information on findings of the tracking and of the on-the-ground research into reports to DEQ.

The scope of work is correctly conceived of as operation of a tracking and auditing program rather than simple procurement and deployment of trackers. Through its integration of waste tracking with on-the-ground research, BAN will be providing a comprehensive auditing backstop to the responsible end market provision.

The estimated cost for the procurement of these services is $250,000. This is the first time that the DEQ has conducted a procurement for such services.

DEQ seeks to contract with Basel Action Network (BAN) for the services and products listed above as a sole-source procurement. As described below, a sole source procurement is required in this case due to the pilot nature of the project and BAN’s unique qualifications and experience, equipment, as well as BAN’s extensive, unparalleled, global network of on-the-ground site inspectors of recycling processing facilities. Oregon’s waste may end up anywhere in the world (the RMA does not interfere with interstate commerce, as is constitutionally appropriate in the US policy context), and BAN’s network covers the entire map of Basel signatory nations – i.e., practically the entire globe.

5. Findings:

A. Market Research Overall Finding.

Sole-Source Determination_rev01-31-24 Page 3 of 4

The conclusion that BAN is the only source who can provide the goods or services was the outcome of:

• Internet research on organizations providing tracking services, and

• Discussions and correspondence with o the Rechargeable Battery Association (regarding tracker safety), o the National Center for Electronics Recycling, Oregon’s electronics recycling program (E-Cycles) contractor, (regarding their search for qualified contractors, because the electronic waste stewardship program in Oregon also has a tracking requirement), and o members of the waste trade working group within the international advocacy movement Break Free From Plastic (to scope the waste trade research component).

And

B. Findings of Fact pursuant to OAR 125-247-0275(2) must include, at a minimum, one of the following:

1. Pursuant to OAR 125-247-0275(2)(a): Compatibility. Provide findings supporting your determination that the efficient utilization of existing goods requires the acquisition of compatible goods or services from only one source.

n/a

2. Pursuant to ORS 279B.075 (2)(b): Exchange of Software or Data. Provide findings supporting your determination that the goods or services required for the exchange of software or data with other public or private agencies are available from only one source.

n/a

3. Pursuant to ORS 279B.075 (2)(c): Pilot or Experimental Project. Provide findings supporting your determination that the goods or services are for use in a pilot or an experimental project.

This contract will represent the first time that the State of Oregon, through DEQ, has contracted for random bale tracking of waste – therefore, it is a pilot project. To DEQ’s knowledge, it is also a first instance of a government procurement in the US for tracking services covering packaging of all material types collected for recycling.

BAN first became known to DEQ through its E-Trash Transparency Project, which in the early 2010s deployed Global Positioning System (GPS) trackers into LCD (liquid-crystal display) flat panel monitors that were dropped off for recycling nationwide. This project revealed that one of DEQ’s service providers for its electronic waste stewardship program was fraudulently misrepresenting the disposition of materials that it managed. This incident highlighted BAN’s unique skillset, as well as the utility of random bale tracking for auditing of disposition reporting. Subsequently BAN has conducted waste tracking under contract for several jurisdictions in the region (City of Seattle and King County, Washington).

4. Pursuant to ORS 279B.075 (2)(d): Other findings that support the conclusion that Supplies and Services are available from only one source may include but are not limited to considerations of: unique

Sole-Source Determination_rev01-31-24 Page 4 of 4 design, availability, geographic location, exclusive authorized representative, cost of conversion, and warranty services.

BAN is uniquely positioned for this procurement because it is a) one of very few organizations that provides random bale tracking services to clients, and b) it is the only such organization that has staff and networked partner organizations on the ground in many of the export markets that likely manage Oregon’s waste; people who can follow up on tracker locational findings with on-the-ground information to verify whether or not the facilities are operating responsibly—a key requirement of the law.

Only BAN has the global network, tracking supplies and tracking capacity needed to immediately deploy a portion of the trackers at the beginning of 2026 and gather information about any unauthorized destinations in time to bring findings to bear during the 2026 legislative session. Recyclables can take 1-2 months to reach their final end market destination and the short legislative session will only run for five weeks of February- March, 2026; therefore, only a contractor equipped from the start date with a supply of trackers and a network of country-specific researchers ready to act upon tracker information could be able to generate actionable information in time.

BAN is the only organization that uses multiple tracker power technologies (including lithium iron phosphate and alkaline battery-powered trackers), which will give DEQ maximum flexibility in terms of the materials (e.g. plastic, paper, glass, metal, etc.) and product formats (e.g. tubs, bottles, etc.) that will be tracked, and options for ensuring safety. Lithium iron phosphate batteries are thermally and chemically more stable than other lithium-ion chemistries and are used by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for space applications due to the reduced fire risk. This is important in a waste supply chain context, where the trackers may meet their end of life in a shredder. Although their life spans are shorter and they are larger than lithium-ion batteries (meaning they are more difficult to place into individual pieces waste and may rather needed to be placed loose into a waste bale), alkaline batteries, represent no fire risk in shredding.

Alkaline battery-powered trackers are a very limited commodity not readily sold; the Rechargeable Battery Association advised DEQ to work with a battery manufacturer to build such trackers from scratch in order to implement this project. However, BAN maintains an existing supply of such trackers.

Part B - Conditions of Approval will be inserted by DAS.

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Approved By: ____________________________________________________________________ Brian Boling, DEQ Assistant Director/DPO Date

09/17/2025 https://oregondeq.na2.documents.adobe.com/verifier?tx=CBJCHBCAABAAkUDvA_6ijcUJ71M_Ap8WSUh6DED5SorP