SECTION 260:85-1-4. Recycled products procurement

(a)   Purchase of recycled products. Each state public entity shall procure products which are manufactured with recycled materials, and products which are recyclable and/or durable, to meet or exceed the legislative intent, requirements, and goals of the Act.

(b)   Reporting of purchases of recycled products. Each state public entity shall submit a report to the Director by December 31 of each year. This report shall describe the results of its procurement of recycled paper products and other products manufactured with recycled materials over the past fiscal year. The report shall be in a format determined by the Office.

(c)   Assistance in procurement objectives. The Office shall provide assistance to state public entities in the achievement of procurement objectives in their recycling programs.

(d)   Procurement specifications for recycled materials. Each state public entity shall use procurement specifications to require, to the greatest extent practicable, that a product and its packaging or container contain recycled materials and that the product and its packaging or container be recyclable.

(1)   Product and packaging specifications shall require the use of post-consumer materials to the greatest extent practicable without jeopardizing the intended end use of the product.

(2)   In writing specifications and selecting products for procurement, life cycle costs shall be part of the evaluation criteria when the costs of waste disposal or the durability and reusability of a product may be significant.

(3)   A state public entity may determine that, for technical reasons, and for a particular end use, a product containing recycled materials will not meet reasonable performance standards, and may therefore declare the purchase of a product manufactured with recycled materials to be unpracticable. Such a determination shall be documented and based solely upon technical performance information related to a specific item, and not to a grade or type of product. This documentation may be requested for review by the Office.

(4)   Each state public entity shall reduce the generation of solid waste at its source, whenever practicable, by minimizing the purchase of single-use, disposable products and requiring the purchase of durable products which can be reused.

(5)   Each state public entity shall, whenever practicable, purchase only office paper, photocopier paper, printer paper, and printed paper products which are not coated with plastic, clay, or other material used to create a glossy finish.

(6)   Each state public entity shall take reasonable steps to minimize the procurement of colored paper products. If color is necessary for a particular use, full consideration shall be given to the use of white paper printed with colored, soy- based ink.

(e)   Declaration of vendors of percentage of recycled materials in products. State public entities shall require vendors to declare the minimum, if not exact, percentage of recycled materials content in the products offered, including both the post-consumer and total recycled materials content, regardless of whether the product meets the percentage of recycled materials specified for that product.

(f)   Certification by vendor of recycled content claim. The vendor of any product for which a recycled content claim is made must both possess and rely upon a reasonable basis for the claim and must be able, upon request by the Office, to certify and demonstrate this claim. Any fraud or deception in the representation of recycled materials content may result in cancellation of the contract and the removal or suspension of the vendor from the bidders list pursuant to OAC 260:115-3-21.

(g)   Preferences for recycled materials. If several products manufactured with recycled materials are being considered for purchase, and if all cost and quality considerations are comparable, preference shall be given to the product with the highest content of post- consumer material. If this measure fails to identify the more preferable product, the award shall go to the product with the highest content of total recycled materials.

(h)   Preferences by public entities. Each state public entity responsible for the maintenance of public lands in this state shall, to the greatest extent practicable and consistent with sound environmental practices, give preference to the use of compost materials in land maintenance activities which are to be paid for by public funds.

(i)   Provisions for Oklahoma Department of Transportation and Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. The Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority shall review and modify all bid and paving material specifications:

(1)   To provide that the specifications encourage the maximum purchase, when practicable, of recyclable asphalt pavement and paving materials utilizing recycled materials, including but not limited to:

(A)   crushed concrete sub base;

(B)   fly ash;

(C)   glass and glassy aggregates; and

(D)   asphalt material containing ground tire rubber.

(2)   Life cycle cost analysis shall be used in determining practicability.

(j)   Provisions for public entities using motor vehicles. Each state public entity which owns or maintains motor vehicles is encouraged, to the greatest extent practicable to:

(1)   Equip such vehicles with retreaded tires.

(A)   Efforts should first be made to procure retreading services for the entity's own waste tire casings.

(B)   If the services in 260:85-1-4(j)(1)(A) are not practicable, retreaded tires should be procured for use as replacements.

(C)   Emergency vehicles defined in 47 O.S. 1991 § 1-103 (Highway Safety Code) are exempt from this recommendation.

(2)   Procure re-refined oils for all practicable uses, including, but not limited to, such uses as:

(A)   engine lubricating oils;

(B)   gear oils; and,

(C)   hydraulic fluids.

(k)   Price preference on bids. When accepting bids for purchases of supplies, equipment and materials, the Central Purchasing Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and each state public entity shall extend price preferences to products manufactured with recycled materials whenever the Director determines that such products are unable to be price competitive with products of comparable grade and quality manufactured from virgin materials.

(1)   Those products manufactured with at least the minimum content level of recycled materials as established by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shall receive a price preference not to exceed a five percent differential.

(2)   A copy of the EPA specified content requirements and a list of products meeting the requirements will be maintained as a public record by the Office.

(3)   A product which contains recycled materials but falls short of the EPA minimum requirements may receive a price preference if no other product is bid or offered which meets the EPA requirements.

(4)   Price preferences allowed pursuant to this section shall not be combined with other price preferences or differentials.

(5)   In response to product market conditions, the Director may temporarily increase, reduce, or eliminate any recycled product price preference.

(l)   Exemptions. No state public entity may be exempted from complying with the legislative intent, requirements, and goals of the Act; however, the Director may grant temporary exemptions from compliance with the rules in 260:85-1-4 due to lack of market availability or economic feasibility. All requests for exemption must be made in writing and must be accompanied by documentation supporting the need for such an exemption. Any exemption granted shall be in effect for no longer than one year.

[Source: Added at 31 Ok Reg 1493, eff 9-12-14]