The California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB), a department of the California Environmental Protection agency, in collaboration with the Department of General Services (DGS) has formed the Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) Task Force. In recognition of the financial and environmental benefits of buying reusable, energy efficient and waste-reducing products, the task force, in a letter to Recharger from Fareed Ferhut, an integrated waste management specialist for CIWMB, is “seeking to increase its purchases of EPPs.”
Ferhut is calling for input to establish an EPP standard that will provide “an easy and effective benchmark to readily identify EEP cartridges,” using Public Contract Code, Section 12156 as well as Public Contract Code, Section 12200 as guidelines. “It is hoped the EPP standard for printer cartridges will follow this language, but with the realization that even these benchmarks will need further definition and clarification,” said Ferhut. The five primary draft policy objectives of which the task force will be considering are: environmental and human health, energy, materials, manufacturing and end of life.
Public Contract Code, Section 12200 determines that any product listed as “recycled” must contain “no less than 50 percent of the total weight of secondary and postconsumer materials with not less than 10 percent of its total weight consisting of postconsumer material.”
Comments and suggestions should be directed to Fareed Ferhut, Integrated Waste Management Specialist, Buy Recycled Section, CIWMB, P.O. Box 4025, MS-12, Sacramento, CA 95812. He can also be contacted at fferhut@ciwmb.ca.gov or (916) 341-6482 to answer questions or to discuss the project.
