On April 7, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice in the Federal Register requesting comments on federal procurement guidelines that designate products that are or can be produced with “recovered materials” and set forth recommended practices for purchasing such items. Recovered materials are those waste materials that have been recovered or diverted from the solid waste stream. The procurement guidelines are required under section 6002 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which established the “buy recycled” program to use Federal purchasing power to stimulate the demand for products made with recovered materials. Federal agencies, as well as state and local agencies and government contractors, that use appropriated funds to purchase $10,000 or more of designated items are required to purchase items containing recovered materials to the fullest extent possible.

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