Buying Recycled and Eco-Friendly Products Workshop

Part of the City of El Monte Recycled Content Fair
Thursday, September 27
Workshop sponsored by the L.A. County Sanitation Districts
Arranged by the Southern California Council on Environment & Development (SCCED)

Executive Summary

Overview on Buying Recycled and Eco-Friendly Products: Andrew Basmajian, Environmental Programs Division, City of Santa Monica (310) 458-2227. Our areas of purchasing success include: cleaning supplies, recycled content products, vehicle maintenance products, low emission paints, alternative fuel vehicles, integrated pest control, energy and water conservation, renewable energy, and more.

Using Policies and Bid Specifications to Purchase Recycled Products: Dean Hartwell, Integrated Waste Management, City of Glendale (818) 548-3916, Ext. 8645. We purchase recycled copier paper, rubberized asphalt, speed bumps, and wheel stops. All compost bins we distribute are 100% recycled plastic.

Cooperative Purchasing of Recycled Paper: George De La O, Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Works (626) 458-5184. The LA County Program enables any government agency in Los Angeles County to purchase recycled bond paper at a reduced price through an open contract. Contact Robert B. Krost at (562) 698-1199, Ext. 514.

Green Building Construction Using Recycled Products: Lupe Maria Vela, Project Manager, AB 939 Sustainability Partnership, City of Los Angeles. We have a 10% Price Preference Ordinance for certain recycled-content products. Our Sustainable Design Program will plan 19 new fire stations and 8 new animal shelters to make them green.

Resources for Buying Recycled Products: Jim Stewart, SCCED (310) 390-4366. We have prepared selected lists of buy-recycled websites, email listserves, and other resources, including phone numbers of some vendors not available via the Internet. Please see the Appendix to this report.

Summaries of Speaker Presentations

Overview on Buying Recycled and Eco-Friendly Products: Andrew Basmajian, Environmental Programs Division, City of Santa Monica.

We define green purchasing as environmentally preferable products, that are:

less hazardous, less toxic,
resource efficient,
less polluting,
have recycled content,
have reusability, durability, good design, high quality (quality products will last longer)

Our green purchasing program came from our Sustainable City program, which was initiated by staff in 1991, adopted by City Council in 1994. The program goals include: – establish measurable targets

Reduce Resource Consumption
Reduce Waste and Pollution
Protect Human Health and the Environment

Areas of purchasing success include:

Safer custodial cleaning supplies: we now look at every chemical we use, we have replaced 120 chemicals with about 50 safer mainly citrus-based products.
Recycled content products, including paper, office products, motor oil, street surfacing materials, paint, trash can liners, etc. We are looking to use 100% post-consumer paper for City letterhead.
Environmentally friendly vehicle maintenance products, including replacing ethylene glycol antifreeze with propylene glycol, aqueous parts washing solutions eliminate carcinogenic cleaners, re-refined motor oil, oil filters are disassembled and recycled by a company in Burbank. We use solely retread tires for large trucks, but we can’t get quality retread tires for passenger cars.
Facilities Maintenance: including low emission paints with lower VOC content, no rainforest wood.
Street Maintenance: refurbishing paved alleys with new machinery that eliminates the need for wood forms.

– Alternative fuel vehicles, including natural gas powered trash trucks.

– Integrated pest control services: by looking at the way pests behave, and interfering with their lives, we have nearly eliminated use of pesticides.

Energy conservation: we use energy conserving heating and air conditioning systems, compact fluorescent bulbs and guidelines for new construction.
Water conservation: we have centralized control of watering in every park, so we can ensure there is no watering during a rain.

– Renewable sources of electricity: all municipal buildings are powered with electricity from a geothermal plant, with no global warming emissions. The additional cost has been paid from the savings by installing compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Green purchasing is based on:

– Ordinances, such as the one banning purchase rainforest woods.

– Council-adopted policies, such as alternative fuel vehicles and renewable energy.

– Administrative policies (this is our primary implementation strategy, it is not directed or mandated by City Council, but they are supportive of our approach).

For example, we have implemented some purchasing restrictions to limit what employees can buy. We tell Office Depot to restrict availability of non-recycled content products.

Implementation methods

Implementation methods can be simple or complex. You can have a single criterion for a single product, or you can have multiple criteria involving multiple products, with a citywide bid process. The Environmental Programs Division staff work within the existing City purchasing process and partner with buyers, upper management and end users. We conduct research, test products, develop specifications, and train end users. It takes a long time

Obstacles we have overcome included:

– “Low bid” — We decided to define that as the “lowest responsible bid,” so it can include environmental attributes and performance criteria as well as cost.

– Employee resistance to change — We provided training and education. We told custodians we were concerned with their health and they got enthusiastic about the new non-toxic cleaning products. (One window washer in a commercial building lost an eye using ammonia-based cleaners.) We explained to the truck drivers the benefits of natural gas fuel, so they weren’t so concerned about the reduced power.

– Product performance — We did research and testing to find out the products and methods of use that worked best. We overcame the myths about recycled paper. We found out that some custodians had never been trained at all for their jobs. Terrycloth wiping rags made the green cleaners more effective.

Keys to success were:

– Get support from the top. Get a manager with vision committed.

– Include end users in the decision making process, involvement is key. This was the first time anyone had asked the custodians for their opinion.

– Do detailed research and testing. We let them test the re-refined oil in a couple of vehicles first.

– Implement a pilot program first, using some of your most experienced, yet open-minded staff.

– Train end users in the best ways to use the products. We took them to the beach to show them where the toxic cleaners and pesticides would wind up.

Be flexible, and change direction if needed. We found out there were no effective non-toxic floor strippers, so we are still using the old products for that.
Follow-up is critical. For example, the Big Blue Bus surveys customers and employees to uate progress at the end of every three year period.

Using Policies and Bid Specifications to Purchase Recycled Products: Dean Hartwell, Integrated Waste Management, City of Glendale, (818) 548-3916 Ext. 8645.

We have a full range of recycling collection and education programs. We teach the community about the importance of recycling, so we feel we have to buy recycled-content products. In 1992, our City Manager issued a “Recycled-Content Procurement Policy Directive, which called for an annual report on the types and quantities of purchased recycled products, experience with the performance of those products and efforts to increase the purchase of such products. In 1997, this directive was incorporated into the City’s Administrative Policy Manual.

These reports have proven useful in increasing the awareness of recycled-content products, and many recycled products are now purchased, including recycled rubberized asphalt, speed bumps, and wheel stops. As long as recycled copier paper costs less than 5% more, we have to buy recycled paper.

The bad news is we have lacked accurate reporting, because our purchasing software can not give us the reports we want.

However, we expect to be specifying a wide range of recycled products in the construction of our new Recycling Center, including carpet, ceiling tiles, paint, countertops, insulation, wallboard, floor tiles and restroom partitions. All compost bins we distribute are 100% recycled plastic. We also have lunch tote bags made from 100% post-consumer plastic soft drink bottles. I have copies of the purchase order we submitted to Weisenbach Specialty Printing in Columbus, Ohio, for the bags.

Cooperative Purchasing of Recycled Paper: George De La O, Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Works (626) 458-5184.

The LA County Procurement Programs and Cooperatives enables any government agency in Los Angeles County to purchase recycled bond paper at a reduced price through an open contract.

The Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Works has been working on many programs for AB 939, such as residential and commercial recycling. We realized we needed to stimulate the market for recycled-content products. In 1990 the LA County Board of Supervisors passed authorized the purchase of recycled materials, if there was no additional cost. But in 1999 they approved the comprehensive step to have all County agencies purchase 30% post-consumer-content paper even if it cost up to 10% more than virgin paper. The County uses two million sheets of paper per day,

We put on bids and selected Spicers Paper in Santa Fe Springs. We are ordering 80,000 cases per year, and saving $40,000 per year. There are a total of 26 cities already in the partnership, including the City of LA, ordering over 180,000 cases a year, nearly a billion sheets of paper. By having all this paper be 30% post-consumer-content, we are saving 33,000 trees, 13 million gallons of water, and 9 megawatt-hours of electricity per year. We have received awards from the National Association of Counties and the California Integrated Waste Management Board.

We have sent notices to all the mayors, inviting them to participate and we invite you to join.

There is no minimum order, you can order as little as one case, and it will be delivered by the next business day for no extra cost. From 1 to 39 cases of white 8 1/2 x 11 costs $22.49 per case, if paid in 30 days. There are further price breaks for larger orders. Legal and 11 x 17 white paper, plus 8 1/2 x 11 color paper is also available.

Contact Robert B. Krost at (562) 698-1199, Ext. 514, at Spicers Paper, 12310 E. Slauson Avenue, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670. Just tell him you want to order recycled bond paper under the L.A. County contract.

Green Building Construction Using Recycled Products: Lupe Maria Vela, AB 939 Sustainability Partnership, City of Los Angeles, (213) 473-7896.

Sustainability

All of us need to be concerned about the overall issues of sustainability. To be effective, we need to talk with the various people concerned with waste water, air quality, storm water, solid waste, recycling and learn about the whole spectrum of environmental issues and how they interrelate.

What we have learned about recycled-content products:

• Use Council policies and ordinances as appropriate, but administrative policies are the primary means of implementation.

• Product performance, cost and quality are important.

• Supplier integrity and experience is crucial.

• Adequate in-house staffing is necessary.

• Education of staff and the public is important (but it is often hard to get such soft programs approved by the City Council).

• Documentation of progress helps identify problem areas that need attention, as well as enabling you to report successes to leaders.

Important trends:

• We are moving beyond just recycling to look at recycled-content purchasing.

• We must no longer focus on single issues, but look at the entire picture, talking to other environmental specialists and making linkages.

• The City budget is shrinking, so collaboration with other departments is key to success.

• We need to look at the concept of sustainability as a means to integrate various environmental issues.

City of LA Recycled-Content Purchasing Program updates:

• Recycled Product Ordinance was passed in 1992.

• 10% Price Preference Ordinance for recycled-content products was passed in 1994.

• Department of General Service’s Buy Recycled 2000 Directive (issued in 1999) mandated purchases of recycled materials in 18 categories of products, including paper, plastic, paint, asphalt, etc.

• City Hardwood Policy mandates only purchases of wood approved by the Certified Forest Products Council as having been grown sustainably.

• Mayor’s Executive Directive 2001-33 on Recycling Programs establishes the goal of 70% diversion from landfills. It mandates annual departmental plans including establishing departmental goals to buy post-consumer recycled products and reusable products, identifying source reduction and recycling opportunities, such as requiring vendors to take back packaging.

• The City’s Sustainable Design Program is directed by a new City Architect who is also an advocate of green design. We are designing 19 new fire stations and 8 animal shelters with an additional 7% funding to make them green. We will try to incorporate green practices into the design of all 32 new libraries.

• The Draft Green Building LA Initiative provides strategies for employees and residents on how to make the City greener.

• The City’s Deconstruction Pilot Project involves an ongoing uation of the reuse and costs of construction materials. (Sponsored by Library and Environmental Affairs)

• Green Residential Program and source books have been prepared for the Housing Department with assistance from Global Green and Environmental Affairs. Global Green can help you put together a green resource guide for your city.

Green Building Products with recycled content:

• Are the fastest growing segment of recycled content products.

• Have much improved products and companies.

• Are being integrated into green building policies and practices.

The best way to involve architects and design engineers in using recycled content is to look at construction products by type of application (which are called “Divisions”). For example, you can ask the engineers if we can put crumb rubber into any of the “Sitework Division” activities. The eight relevant Divisions are:

Division 2 Sitework, including paving and surfacing

Division 3 Concrete

Division 4 Masonry

Division 5 Metals

Division 6 Wood and Plastics

Division 7 Insulation, Siding and Roofing

Division 8 Doors and Windows

Division 9 Finishes and Paints

The design period is the crucial point to include recycled-content products:

• Incorporate them into the design review, at least by the 75% or 95% phase when they start to specify specific products for construction.

• Identify the types of materials used and their recycled-content substitutes.

• Create a list of suppliers or manufacturers of recycled-content products.

• Document percentages of recycled content and highlight interesting design approaches.

• Analyze recycled-content (percentage of post-consumer and post-industrial waste?), recyclability (can it be recycled when it is deconstructed?), durability (extended life?), air emissions (will there be less dangerous off-gassing?), and product performance (will it work just as well or better, be more fire retardant, etc. than non-recycled?).

LEED Standards

Use LEED (Leadership in Energy and in Environmental Design) Standards, which go beyond the State Building Code Title 24 (even though the State requirements were recently increased to aid energy conservation).

LEED is a proprietary rating system developed by the US Green Building Council (see www.usgbc.org). The rating system is a voluntary approach that uates performance from a whole building perspective. You can get silver, gold or platinum certification.

The system is organized into five environmental categories. The Materials and Resources Category covers the area of solid waste, recycling, and use of RCPs. In this category there are seven credits, one prerequisite, and thirteen points available. A minimum of 25% recycled-content material in your building will earn a point. An additional 25% recycled material, will get another point. It does require use of a spreadsheet to calculate total costs of the project.

Resources

Municipal leaders in green building design strategies include Austin, Texas, which started way back in the 1980s. Portland requires all municipal buildings to be LEED certified. Others are San Jose, Oakland, Ventura, San Diego, Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle, New York, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco.

CIWMB — excellent website on green building products: www.ciwmb.ca.gov/GreenBuilding/
Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development (CESD). www.sustainable.doe.gov/
The Environmental Building News Product Directory: www.greenspec.com
Construction materials manufacturers and products directory (but not necessarily recycled content): www.4specs.com
Environmental Building News does a very good objective review of products: www.BuildingGreen.com

Training opportunities:

National Institute of Building Sciences, Sustainable Buildings Conference: www.nibs.org
Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility, Annual Green Material Showcase: www.Adpsr-norcal.org/adpsr/
Alameda County Green Building Seminars: www.StopWaste.org
National Association of Home Builders Research Center, National Green Building Conference: www.nahbrc.org/tertiary.asp?TrackID=&CategoryID=1&DocumentID=2984

For more information:

Subscribe to our bi-monthly E-Flash electronic newsletter on LA sustainable development efforts by contacting Lupe Vela (213) 473-7896 or Wendy Johnson (213) 473-8230 at the City of Los Angeles AB 939 Sustainability Partnership, email: [email protected] or www.lacity.org/san/LASP

Resources for Buying Recycled Products: Jim Stewart, Associate Director, SCCED.

I have prepared selected lists of buy-recycled websites, email listserves, and other resources, including phone numbers of some vendors not available via the Internet. Please see the Appendix to this report.

I want to highlight the reference in “Other Buy Recycled Resources” to the Environmental Defense chart from MERGE’s Environmental Guidance Center comparing energy consumption of virgin and recycled packaging materials. The energy consumption to process recycled PET plastic bottles is only 10% of that need to manufacture virgin PET bottles. For HDPE, it is an 87% savings. Thus, the higher the recycled content in the bottle, the greater the energy savings.

The University of California at Berkeley study on “The Economic Impact Of Waste Disposal And Diversion In California,” has some impressive data on the economic benefits when a ton of material is recycled rather than disposed in a landfill.

Total sales impacts (rise from $119/ton in the landfill to $254/ton if recycled)
Output impacts (from $289/ton to $564/ton)
Total income impacts (from $108/ton to $209/ton)
Value-added impacts (from $144/ton to $290/ton)
Jobs impact (from 2.46 jobs/1000 tons to 4.73 jobs/1000 tons).

CIWMB also has some helpful fact sheets:

Steps to Implement a Successful Buy Recycled Program
State Agencies Give Re-Refined Oil the Green Light
Have You Gotten Recharged Lately?
Manufacturer Identification of Recycled Content

Other Workshop Presentations

Purchase Recycled-Content Products — It’s a Good Thing: JoAnn Jaschke, State Agency Buy Recycled Campaign (SABRC), CIWMB, (916) 341-6477.

Buy recycled is the missing arrow in the usual recycling symbol with the three arrows: reduce, reuse, recycle. Buying recycled-content products (RCPs) complements AB 939 and AB 75, which require the diversion of waste from landfills, by ensuring there is a market for the recyclables that are collected.

Federal and State Mandates:

California Public Contract Code (PCC) 12210(a) mandates that all local and State public agencies shall buy recycled instead of non-recycled, if price, quality and availability are equal.
PCC 12205, 12213 state that “agencies shall require all contractors to certify in writing the minimum percentage, if not the exact percentage, of post-consumer and secondary material in the materials, goods, or services provided or used.” No recycled product shall be discriminated against for any reason other than function. Also you cannot specify in a contract a requirement that would eliminate recycled products, such as a brightness in paper that cannot be provided in recycled-content paper.
Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Section 6002 and Executive Order 13101 on “Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition” require that Federal, State and local agencies, and their contractors, are required to buy designated recycled products if they spend more than $10,000 annually on a product and it is partly funded from Federal money.

Definitions:

Total recycled-content percentage is the sum of post-consumer content percentage plus secondary recycled content percentage.

Post-consumer content is material from products purchased, used, and then recycled by a consumer.

Secondary recycled content includes fragments of finished products or finished products that have not reached the consumer, such as a manufacturer’s paper trimmings put back into the manufacturing process for a new product.

State Agency Requirements (SABRC) (To download a copy of the Manual, go to: www.ciwmb.ca.gov/buyrecycled/stateagency/Manual/ These requirements must be met by state agencies, but can be used voluntarily by local governments.):

1. Certify

State agencies shall require all contractors to certify in writing the minimum percentage if not the exact percentage of post-consumer and secondary material in ALL the materials, goods, or services provided or used. Certification Form #74 can be downloaded from: www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Contracts/Forms/CIWMB74.pdf

This form is not required if the information is obtained in writing in a letter, e-mail, product label, catalog, website, purchase order, invoice, contract specification, or product specification.

2. Buy

Buy recycled-content products. To be considered a recycled-content product the products falling into 11 product categories have to contain a certain amount of recycled-content material. Product Categories that must have recycled-content include: copier paper, printing and writing paper, plastic, compost, glass, lubricating oil, paint, solvents, tires, steel, and tire-derived products (such as floor mats, road surfacing, bumpers, etc.). See detailed list of products at: www.ciwmb.ca.gov/buyrecycled/stateagency/Manual/ProdCats.htm

Goal is a minimum of 50% of dollars is spent on recycled-content products for purchases in the specified categories (except 25% for printing and writing paper).

Note that remanufactured, reused or refurbished products are always considered recycled products, regardless of whether or not they meet the minimum content requirements. Be sure and check the DGS Surplus Property Program and CIWMB CalMAX Program before you make purchases.

3. Track

Track purchases when they are made, which can be done manually (on a worksheet CIWMB can provide), or with an Excel spreadsheet or Access database, automatically on your comprehensive purchasing computer system. (Contact CIWMB — JoAnn Jaschke to get Excel reporting programs, which are available from various state agencies.) Remember to include all reportable purchases, both RCPs and non-RCPs, and remember that used or refurbished products are always classified as RCPs.

4. Report

Report on Form #71 — SABRC Procurement Report, which is due 9/1/02 for State agencies, along with copies of the recycled-content certification forms and/or other documentation for each product that contains any amount of recycled material. (The form is available as part of the Manual). The report needs to capture the dollars spent on both non-recycled content products and recycled-content products that fall within the 11 product categories.

Places to find RCPs instead of non-RCPs:

RCP Databases: www.ciwmb.ca.gov/RCP , www.epa.gov/cpg , www.ciwmb.ca.gov/GreenBuilding
Current suppliers: ask your current suppliers if they have RCPs
DGS master contracts for RCPs: http://www.pd.dgs.ca.gov/acqui/reccont.pdf
Network: ask your colleagues and other purchasing agents
Recycled Product Trade Shows: attend trade shows and talk to suppliers, www.ciwmb.ca.gov/buyrecycled/events/tradeshow
Prison Industry Authority (PIA) certifies the recycled-content of its products (which are available for sale to State and local public agencies): http://www.pia.ca.gov/onlinecat/recycle/recycle-static.html
Reused or refurbished products:
- DGS’s Surplus Property Program: www.pd.dgs.ca.gov/default.asp?mp=/materials/surplus.asp
- CIWMB’s CalMAX Program: www.ciwmb.ca.gov/calmax

Other helpful websites:

– www.ciwmb.ca.gov/buyrecycled/stateagency

– California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS) master contracts (not necessarily RCPs: www.pd.dgs.ca.gov/default.asp?mp=/acqui/cmas.asp

Guidelines for implementing a successful buy recycled program

Track all purchases.
Obtain upper management support.
Adopt a policy – samples are found on SABRC’s website at: www.ciwmb.ca.gov/BuyRecycled/Policies/
Develop a Buy Recycled Team — that includes all branches or divisions.
Share information, network about applications, products and suppliers.
Ensure there are adequate personnel resources.
Evaluate your program annually to ensure you are meeting your goals.
Contact CIWMB for assistance:

Jerry Hart (916) 341-6473 or [email protected]

JoAnn Jaschke (916) 341-6477 or [email protected]

Judy Burns (916) 341-6479 or [email protected]

Kathy Marsh (916) 341-6482 or [email protected]

Kimya Lambert (916) 341-6483 or [email protected]

Mary Farr (916) 341-6481 or [email protected]

Patricia Romine (916) 341-6486 or [email protected]

Rick Hicks (916) 341-6480 or [email protected]

Reasons for buying recycled:

Reduces waste going to landfills.
Conserves natural resources and energy.
Supports economic development related to recycled content products.
Creates jobs — for every 1000 tons of waste diverted from a landfill, 4.2 new jobs are created.
Environmental stewardship.
Closes the loop.

Questions:

Q: If, to meet the 50% requirement, we have to pay more, is that ok?

A: Yes, but we can help you find vendors that offer recycled-content products at good prices to help you meet that requirement.

Q: What happens if a State agency doesn’t meet the requirements?

A: Information is included in a report to the Legislature, you will get a letter, and the data is posted on CIWMB website.

The State of California Property Reuse Program: Ed McKendry, California Department of General Services (DGS) Procurement Division, Property Reuse Section (714) 449-5891.

What do large business organizations do with items they no longer need in their operations? Most people probably never give the question a thought.

The State of California’s vast operations certainly make up a very “large organization.” And, every year, many state-run operations have items they no longer need ¾ items that the state designates as surplus property. There are desks, chairs, filing cabinets, bookcases, computers and computer peripheral equipment, copiers, calculators and typewriters. There are also refrigerators and other kitchen equipment as well as cooking utensils and flatware. There is hospital equipment, medical equipment and exercise equipment. There are generators, shop tools and machinery. And there is rolling stock, such as automobiles, trucks and forklifts. Actually, there is a wide selection of many different kinds of items. There are even bicycles that usually come from local police departments.

What happens to these surplus items? Because of their condition, some items have no further useful life. In those instances, the state disposes of them through contracts with recyclers. Many of the other surplus items, however, still have useful life remaining. So, the State of California makes them available for sale to state and local government agencies, school districts, non-profit organizations and the general public ¾ all for literally pennies on the dollar when compared to the original cost of the items when they were new.

The beauty of the state’s program is that it extends the useful life of surplus property that could otherwise end up as landfill. And the program affords those interested in acquiring surplus property the opportunity to save money on items they can use, either for their business operations or for their personal needs.

Dan McDonough, manager of the Surplus Property Program, which is part of the Department of General Services’ Procurement Division, says, “Making the state’s surplus property available to start-up small businesses is an especially helpful way for them to acquire useful items at the lowest possible cost.”

He also emphasizes, “Of course, making the property available to any organization or individual that can use it is what we are all about. It certainly addresses the problem of reducing landfill. More importantly, it ensures that the citizens of California have access to perfectly good items for their individual business or personal needs. And the income that we derive from the sale of the surplus property goes back to California.”

According to McDonough, recently his organization has moved away from calling the program the “Surplus Property Program” to the “Property Reuse Program. ” McDonough says, “Calling ourselves The Property Reuse Program emphasizes our primary responsibility, which is to ensure that all reusable state surplus property is made available to those who are interested in acquiring it.”

The Procurement Division’s Property Reuse Program also serves as the state’s resource for federal surplus property, which is available for donation to state and local government agencies, school districts and non-profit organizations under specific requirements established by the Federal General Services Administration. The property includes a wide variety of items, ranging from such items as commercial refrigeration units to large generators, machine shop equipment, large trucks and vans, cameras and lenses, clothing items and much more. According to Dan McDonough, many of the items are new or nearly new.

In order for an organization to be eligible to acquire federal surplus property, the Procurement Division’s responsible Property Reuse Program personnel must designate the organization as a “Qualified Recipient” through the qualification requirements established by the General Services Administration.

Federal surplus property is also available to certain small business firms that the Federal Small Business Administration designates as eligible to receive the property.

As the incentive for the Procurement Division Property Reuse Program’s making federal surplus property available to qualified organizations and small businesses, the General Services Organization permits the Property Reuse Program to charge the recipients of the donated property a nominal service and handling fee. As Dan McDonough is quick to point out, the service and handling fee represents a very small figure when compared to the actual value of the donated property.

Another important feature of the federal program is the ability of a Qualified Recipient to request the Procurement Division’s Property Reuse unit to locate and acquire specific items on their behalf. For a nominal service and handling fee, the Property Reuse unit’s Property Screeners will find the items and arrange for their delivery directly to the Qualified Recipient.

As a condition of receiving donated federal property, including rolling stock, valued in excess of $5,000, all Qualified Recipients must provide assurance that the property will be placed in use for its intended purpose within 18 months after its receipt. Qualified Recipients must place all other donated property in use within 12 months after its receipt. The Procurement Division’s Property Reuse Program unit is responsible for assuring that the Qualified Recipient has carried out this condition of use.

From time to time, the General Services Administration may authorize the Procurement Division’s Property Reuse unit to make this highly desirable federal surplus property available to the general public in a silent auction. This is another important way for any organization or individual to acquire items at significant savings.

The State of California has two locations where surplus property is available for sale:

Fullerton

Property Reuse Program, 701 Burning Tree Road, Fullerton, California 92833

(714) 449-5900 (FAX) (714) 449-5917 TTY/TDD (714) 733-2093

Sacramento

Property Reuse Program, 1700W National Drive, Sacramento, California 95834

(916) 928-4630 (FAX) (916) 928-0304 TTY/TDD (916) 928-4735

Selected state surplus property is also available through online auctions. To view the property, go to www.dgs.ca.gov, which will take you to the Department of General Services home page. Once there, double click on SURPLUS PROPERTY and follow the link to BID ON THESE ITEMS.

Clearly, the State of California’ Property Reuse Program provides a tremendous opportunity for organizations and individuals throughout the state to save money while providing for their business and personal needs. Dan McDonough and his staff in Fullerton and Sacramento are ready to help anyone who is interested in taking advantage of this outstanding program.

Executive Summary

Other Important Workshop Presentations at the El Monte Fair

Summaries of Speaker Presentations