Eco-Compliance & Education

ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials | ASTM D6400, certified: "Standard Specification for Labeling of Plastics Designed to be Aerobically Composted in Municipal or Industrial Facilities (ASTM, 2021)." 

BPI | Biodegradable Products Institute certified: "Scientifically proven that material will biodegrade, leaving no persistent synthetic residues (BPI, 2020)."

CMA | Compost Manufacturing Alliance: "An acceptance standard for compostables by performing field disintegration testing through several prominent processing methods to ensure products sent to industrial compost facilities adequately break down within the production cycle (CMA, 2021)." 

Net  Zero Waste initiatives: "A strategy for managing existing energy, water, and solid waste programs with the goal of exceeding minimum targets (Assistant Secretary Of The Army For Installations, Energy & Environment, 2015)." 

EPA's Federal Green Challenge: "A national effort under EPA's Sustainable Materials Management Program, challenging EPA and other federal agencies throughout the country to lead by example in reducing the federal government's environmental impact (EPA, 2021)."

Department of Agriculture Biobased Affirmative Procurement Program:

"USDA's Biobased Affirmative Procurement Program (APP) will ensure that USDA designated biobased items will be purchased to the maximum extent practicable and provides departmentwide guidance for implementing the Federal Biobased Products Preferred Procurement Program (FB4P)" (USDA, 2006). "To implement the requirements of FSRIA section 9002 and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) on the purchasing of biobased products. Additionally, this Biobased APP will be updated once items have been designated. In the interim, program and procurement officials should become familiar with its general provisions (USDA, 2006)." 

"1.2 Authority: Federal agencies are required to purchase USDA-designated biobased items. This is mandatory, not voluntary (USDA, 2006)." 

"1.3 Applicability

Section 9002 of FSRIA and USDA's procurement guidelines apply to all Federal procuring agencies that are using Federal funds for procurement or any person contracting with any Federal agency with respect to work performed under the contract (USDA, 2006)."

Federal Acquisition Regulation |FAR part 23.103: 

"(a) Federal agencies shall advance sustainable acquisition by ensuring that 95 percent of new contract actions for the supply of products and for the acquisition of services (including construction) require that the products are- (3) Biobased; (4) Environmentally preferable (Federal Acquisition Regulation, 2022)."

Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR 52.223-2 Affirmative Procurement of Biobased Products Under Service and Construction Contracts: 

"(a) In the performance of this contract, the contractor shall make maximum use of biobased products that are United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-designated items…(Federal Acquisition Regulation, 2022)."

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (40 CFR part 247): 

"This guideline designates items that are or can be made with recovered materials and whose procurement by procuring agencies will carry out the objectives of section 6002 of RCRA. EPA's recommended practices with respect to the procurement of specific designated items are found in the companion Recovered Materials Advisory Notice(s) (Code Of Federal Regulations, 1995)."

Consolidated Recovered Materials Advisory Notices (RMANs) for the Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG): 

"Designates recycled content products that government agencies should buy (EPA, 2007)." 

National Environmental Policy Act (42 USC 4321 and 4332):

"42 USC 4321 Sec 2. The purposes of this Act are to declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment to promote efforts 'which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man; to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation, and to establish a Council on Environmental Qualify." 

"(2) all agencies of the Federal Government shall-- (A) utilize a systematic, interdisciplinary approach which will insure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences and the environmental design arts in planning and in decision making which may have an impact on man's environment; (Farm Service Agency, 1992)." 

Buy American Act: 

"Requires Federal agencies to procure domestic materials and products (U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE, 1978)."

Executive Order 13834: 

Sections 6. Duties of the Federal Chief Sustainability Officer, Section 7. Duties of Heads of Agencies, and Section 11. General Provisions.

 "the policy of the United States that agencies meet energy and environmental performance statutory requirements in a manner that increases efficiency, optimizes performance, eliminates unnecessary use of resources, and protects the environment (Federal Facilities Environmental Stewardship & Compliance Assistance Center, 2019)." 

Implementing Instructions for EO 13834 | Pollution Prevention 

"Agencies should pursue cost-effective waste prevention by first reducing overall waste generated, while also pursuing strategies that reduce disposal fees and minimize environmental impacts by diverting waste from treatment and disposal facilities, including landfill and incineration without energy recovery (Federal Facilities Environmental Stewardship & Compliance Assistance Center, 2019)."

Implementing Instructions for EO 13834 | Acquisition Program Area: 

"…agencies to meet these goals include: Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) (Federal Facilities Environmental Stewardship & Compliance Assistance Center, 2019)." 

Implementing Instructions for EO 13834 | Efficient Federal Operations:

"It is the policy of the United States that agencies shall meet such statutory requirements in a manner that increases efficiency, optimizes performance, eliminates unnecessary use of resources, and protects the environment (Executive Office of the President, 2018)." 

Executive Order 13990:

 "Climate Crisis; Efforts to Protect Public Health and Environment and Restore Science…" "to immediately commence work to confront the climate crisis (Federal Facilities Environmental Stewardship & Compliance Assistance Center, 2021)."

Buy Clean Transparency Act of 2019: 

"S.1864 - A bill to require transparency in reporting the greenhouse gas impacts of products procured by certain Federal agencies, and for other purposes (library of Congress, 2019)." 

Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act of 2020:

 "S.3263 - A bill to amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to reduce the production and use of certain single-use plastic products and packaging, to improve the responsibility of producers in the design, collection, reuse, recycling, and disposal of their consumer products and packaging, to prevent pollution from consumer products and packaging from entering into animal and human food chains and waterways, and for other purposes (library of Congress, 2020)."

Solid Waste Disposal Act: 

"SEC. 1003. (a) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of this Act are to promote the protection of health and the environment and to conserve valuable material and energy resources by— (6) minimizing the generation of hazardous waste and the land disposal of hazardous waste by encouraging process substitution, materials recovery, properly conducted recycling and reuse, and treatment (Public Law 89–272, 2021)." 

Farm Security and Rural Investment Act (FSRIA) of 2002: 

"Section 9002 established a Federal procurement program for biobased items designated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (PUBLIC LAW 107–171, 2002)."