Reports to the 2007 General Assembly

Legislative Report 24

Title: Materials Management Plan & State Recycling Program

Materials Management Plan & State Recycling and Source Reduction Program

In accordance with the 2004 Executive Order 02-04, the Department of Buildings and General Services is reporting on the progress of a Materials Management Plan and the State Recycling and Source Reduction Program.

Materials Management Plan:
The intent of the Materials Management Plan is to institutionalize in State government the purchase, use, reuse and proper disposition of products that promote the environmental practices of resource conservation and pollution prevention.

The initial goals of the Materials Management Plan when it was issued July 1, 1995 were:

Goal #1:   Reduction in the use of office paper.

Goal #2:   Procurement of recycled paper, with the highest post-consumer content feasible that has not been re-bleached with chlorine.

Goal #3:   Procurement of products and supplies that are source reduced, or reusable, or have the highest recycled material content feasible. Procurement of products using reduced or recycled packaging materials. Procurement of goods and services through contracts that maximize pollution prevention, resource conservation, toxics use reduction and energy conservation.

Goal #4:   Procurement of non-toxic or less toxic cleaning and maintenance supplies, including paints and pesticides.

Goal #5:   Institution of a program to segregate waste papers generated within all state-owned and leased facilities. To create a source separation program through education and installation of necessary equipment.

The goals initially set in 1995 have been met.  Since that time our thinking has advanced and new goals have been set that focus on new and emerging technologies. 

Where is our focus?

• Greening the Purchasing Stream
• Environmental Stewardship

So why purchase Green?

• Reduce the environmental impact of state operations:
  
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  • Reduce waste
  • Promote healthy workplaces by reducing exposure to hazardous cleaning (and other) chemicals

• Jump-start the marketplace:
  
  • Increase demand for environmentally sensitive products to increase supply and lower prices

• Set a positive example: 
  
  • Demonstrate that successful business operations are compatible with environmental responsibility

• Save $
  
  • Reduce energy consumption
  • Reduce waste disposal costs
  • Increase revenue from sale of reusable/recyclable materials

 What does Green mean?

• Energy-efficiency
• Waste reduction
• Low (or no) toxicity
• Made from recycled and/or recyclable materials
• Pollution prevention
• Reduce impact of manufacturing and transportation methods

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) means:

• “[…] products and 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 material acquisition, production, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, re-use, operation, maintenance, or disposal of the product or service.” [Presidential Executive Order #13101 (1998)]

What have we accomplished?
Strategies:

• Purchasing website – an EPP section highlighting environmental awareness; all EPP contracts identified and flagged for annual review for alternatives
• EPP language in all Purchasing Requests for Proposals (RFPs) issued to advance the use of environmentally preferable purchasing practices
• Inventory of all contracts for products that contain mercury, with annual review for alternatives 
• SRMERF:  Resource Management Equipment Revolving Fund – provides loans to fund initial investment in energy-reducing initiatives with repayment scheduled to coincide with the anticipated energy savings
• Standard language in all RFPs for:
  
  • Mercury
  • Paper standards (recycled content, PCF, etc.)
  • Sustainable Products
  • Life cycle cost evaluation
  • Take-back provisions
  • Energy efficiency (Energy-Star)
  • Design for the environment
  • Alternative fuels

Contracts for commodities with recycled content:

• Re-treaded tires
• Re-refined oils and lubricants
• Recycled toner cartridges
• Various office products
• Polyethylene waste liners
• PCF copy paper
• Colored paper stock
• Commercial printing and forms
• Carbonless sets (NCR)
• Paper towels and tissues with paper recycling component
• Carpet
• Glass beads (used with traffic paint)
• Traffic cones
• Steel sign posts
• Aluminum sign blanks
• Aluminum license plate sheeting
• Culvert
• Snowplow blades & snowplow shoes   
  

Other EPP contracts:

• All office equipment (copiers, fax machines, etc.) are Energy-Star rated and must be able to use recycled paper
• Bio-diesel fuel for heating in two buildings and for use in heavy equipment
• Chunk wood and wood chips for heating in numerous buildings
• All passenger cars meet EPA standards as low-emission vehicles (LEVs); hybrid vehicles
• Lamps and ballasts contract promotes energy efficient and long lasting fluorescent tubes with high performance ballasts; compact fluorescent lamps; fluorescent lamps low in mercury content  are collected and recycled through contractor; and rebates are received from Efficiency Vermont for energy efficient items.
• Rechargeable batteries – up-front cost is 4 times more than alkaline, but difference is quickly recovered
• Cleaning products all comply with Vermont ESOH (Environmental Safety and Occupational Health) criteria and meet or exceed Green Seal Standards
• Architectural paint – zero VOC interior paints and low-VOC paints, stains, and other architectural coatings – at costs comparable to standard paints
• Full line of HVAC air filters including technical expertise, energy conservation surveys, change-out charts, IAQ studies
• Floor mat contract promotes purchase and use of quality entryway and walk-off mats to help protect indoor air quality by reducing tracking of soil into buildings, which can also reduce the amount of chemicals and labor used for cleaning.
• HOST dry extraction floor cleaning contract offers a dry method of carpet cleaning that may reduce possible air quality issues related to damp carpet, and improve scheduling of labor and use of space.

Dollars Spent:

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

What Next?

• Continue educating state users about availability of EPP products
• Continue to promote the availability of state contracts to municipalities and other eligible entities
• Ongoing efforts to develop specifications and locate new products that will lessen environmental impact and comply with the Materials Management Plan
• Initiate a review of environmental compliance in annual BDA audits

State Recycling & Source Reduction Program:
The intent of Executive Order No. 02-04 was to implement an education and information program, to be coordinated by the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Buildings and General Services, to help state employees in the practice of resource conservation and pollution prevention, including environmentally-conscious procurement choices, reducing the use of products and materials opportunities for reuse, and recycling requirements. It is the goal of this program to ensure that state employees understand the importance of their leadership roles and environmental responsibilities and are aware of opportunities to use resource conservation and pollution prevention practices in daily decisions.

Recycling - Calendar Year 2006
Since 1988 the Department of Buildings and General Services (BGS), in cooperation with the Waste Management Division of the Agency of Natural Resources, has been increasingly involved in recycling waste from State facilities.

Recycling may be accomplished both through service contractors and/or directly by state employees.

 The Department of Buildings and General Services aggressively recycle waste streams in the Montpelier and Waterbury State office complexes.

The balance of State facilities competitively bid contracts with private haulers for both waste removal and recycling. The private haulers use the standards set in the solid waste district of each of our buildings.

All construction and renovation contracts advertised by the Department have a mandatory requirement to recycle the major portion of the waste stream. Contractors are required to submit a recycling plan to the Department prior to the award of contract. Project managers and the Agency of Natural Resources provide free information and assistance to contractors by providing them directories of vendors who take different recycled materials and providing space on the project to locate the various containers that are necessary to properly segregate materials. Just about everything typically found on a construction site, except for garbage, can be, and is reused or recycled.

Whenever possible, State facilities are sited downtown and in existing buildings which minimize infrastructure extensions and building demolitions, further reducing the impact on landfills.
The following pages consist of the recycling efforts undertaken in calendar year 2006 by the Department of Building and General Services.

Montpelier, Waterbury (by BGS)

Middlesex (by BGS)

Newport (by BGS)

Composting:
The Department of Buildings and General Services issued a contract to Central Vermont Solid Waste District for commercial composting at the Statehouse Cafeteria and the 133 State Street Cafeteria.
The total food waste diverted from land fill for these two locations was 11.28 tons from January 6, 2006 through December 15, 2006.

Scrap Metal Recycling:
In the spring of 2005, the Department of Buildings and General Services issued an RFP to establish a contract that would allow all State Agencies and Political Subdivisions to utilize this type of service.  We knew that possible locations included the Central Garage, all of the AOT Districts, and three BGS sites.  Previously, each of the three BGS sites had been paying a contractor between $50-$100 to pick up and dispose of their scrap metal, approximately seven times a year. As a result of the bid process, a contract was issued to All Metals Recycling located in Morrisville, Vermont.  The contract was written to cover the Central Garage and the three BGS sites at a minimum.  The contractor will provide the customer with a collection bin and will pay $40.50 per ton for scrap metal collected.  It is our hope that all the AOT Districts will take advantage of this contract as historically, most of them have been paying a contractor to pickup and dispose of their scrap metal.

For the period of December 2005 through November 2006, the State of Vermont received $6,169.11 from the contractor for 152.31 tons of scrap metal collected from the VAOT Central Garage and the three BGS locations.

The RFP had estimated the collection of 161 tons for the three BGS Locations and the Central Garage.

Purchasing and Contract Administration on behalf of the Agency of Transportation issued a competitive bid process and sold 35 years worth of surplus bridge beams.  The total weight sold for reuse and/or scrap was 2,256,541 pounds which resulted in the state collecting $100,599.86 in revenue.