Reports to the 2007 General Assembly

Legislative Report 22

Title: Status of Recycling Project

Purchase of Recycled Products; Report on Implementation

In accordance with Title 29, VSA, Chapter 49, Section 903(d), the Department of Buildings and General Services is reporting on the Purchase of Recycled Products.

Title 29, VSA, Chapter 49, Section 903(d) states:

The commissioner of buildings and general services, with the assistance of all state agencies, shall cooperate with the generators and managers of waste materials which may be recycled and with the producers of products which use recycled materials to maximize the state's use of those materials and products, particularly where the added cost of using waste materials rather than virgin materials is less than the cost avoided by not having that waste in the waste stream. Proceeds from the sale of waste materials collected by the department of buildings and general services shall be credited to a special fund and shall be available to the department to offset the cost of recycling efforts. The goal for the purchase of recycled materials shall be at least 40 percent by the end of 2008. For purposes of this section, "recycled materials" include, but are not limited to, recycled paper products, retreaded automobile tires, re-refined lubricating oil, used automotive parts, reclaimed solvents, recycled asphalt, recycled concrete and compost materials. By January 15 of each odd-numbered year, the commissioner of buildings and general services shall submit a report to the governor and to the natural resources committees of the general assembly reporting on the implementation of this subsection.

Based on the assumption that the stated target goal means that 40% of the products purchased within any given category contain recycled materials, we have exceeded the target in FY05 and FY06, as in previous years.  With additional specificity from the legislature regarding the goal we would be able to provide more specific information. 

We have numerous contracts in place for products that contain recycled material.  In each case, since that is the only state contract for such products, we are confident that all, or nearly all, of those products purchased contain recycled material.  The attached charts show the total dollars spent under each of these contracts – first as an annual total, and then broken down by each product type. 

These figures include only dollars spent through the state-wide contracts established by the Division of Purchasing and Contract Administration.  Most agencies/departments have “blanket delegations of authority” (BDAs) allowing them to make certain purchases without the assistance of the Purchasing and Contract Administration Division (but not for products that could be obtained through an existing statewide contract); purchases of recycled products made under these BDAs are not included.

Dollars Spent:

• The state purchased $3,894,223 worth of recycled products in FY2005, and $5,617,664.49 in FY2006.  This number continues to increase and the FY06 number represents a $1.7 million increase over products purchased in FY05.

On-Going Efforts:

• The purchase of recycled products only represents one small part of the Divisions overall environmental efforts.  For a more complete picture, including our efforts to recycle, where our focus is and why we purchase green, please reference the Report entitled “Materials Management Plan & State Recycling and Source Reduction Program”.

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GRAND TOTALS

November 15, 2006