U.S. Department of Energy Minutes of EO13101 Teleconference on January 21, 1999

Attendees at Richland:
Anna Beard, DOE
Robert Moore, Fluor Daniel
Donna Merry, RFSH
Mary Betsch, RFSH
Donnell Long, Bechtel
Doug DuVon, Bechtel
Sandra Cannon, PNNL
Launa Morasch, PNNL

Others: [Specific names will be added]
Idaho
Savannah River
Princeton Plasma Physics Lab
Golden Field Office
NREL
Jefferson Lab
Oak Ridge
Sandia, California
Lawrence Livermore: Fred Nicoletti, Jim Rogers, Lynn Dresser
Pittsburgh Naval Reactor
Albuquerque
Nevada
Pantex DOE office
Chicago
Kansas City
Brookhaven
Argonne East

DOE FY1998 Results

In FY1998, 50 DOE reporting sites purchased almost $30M of the designated products, of which 59% was with recycled content or 85% when we include those products which could not be purchased with recycled content because they either cost too much, were not available, or did not meet performance requirements. The DOE FY1998 statistics for recycled paper were $8M purchased, of which 58% was recycled or 81% when including exceptions. The DOE FY1998 statistics for remanufactured toner cartridges were $3.5M, of which 64% were remanufactured or 85% when including exceptions. The DOE Executive Order 13101 Web site (http://gerweb.bdm.com/cfdocs/aprs/) will soon have this information by site and so allow you to compare your performance with others.

Dana Arnold (EPA Representative to the White House Recycling Task Force/Office of the Federal Environmental Executive) noted DOE's statistics were better than those of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's.

30% Post-Consumer Copy Paper Requirements and Quality

The types of paper for which there is no longer any justification for not purchasing are copy paper, offset paper, forms bond, computer paper, file folders, white wove envelopes, writing and office paper, book paper, fiber paper, stationery, and cover stock. These must be purchased with 30% post-consumer recycled content or, if not available, with at least 20% post-consumer. The post-consumer paper is made by the same mills and with the same standards as virgin paper so the quality of recycled paper is the same as virgin paper.

30% Post-Consumer Copy Paper Availability

See the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive Web site (http://www.ofee.gov) under "What's New" for the brands of paper that meet the 30% post-consumer requirement. The Government Printing Office (GPO) is presently selling 30% post-consumer recycled paper, and General Services Administration (GSA) will be selling it as soon as they liquidate their stock of 20% post-consumer paper. The 30% post-consumer paper will have the same GSA order number as that presently being used to order 20% post-consumer paper.

30% Post-Consumer Copy Paper (8.5x11") Prices

Remember when comparing prices that not all contractors can purchase from GSA and prices from the same manufacturer are dependent on geographic location, quantities purchased, specific delivery requirements, and other such variables.

Savannah River is purchasing Great White 30% post-consumer paper from Xpedx. for $2.08/ream delivered in 1 day through an ICPT contract. The ICPT xpedx Agreement was placed by Savannah River on behalf of ICPT and may be utilized by the entire complex. A copy of the xpedx Agreement may be found under "Agreements" at http://www.inel.gov/procurement/litco/icpt.html. Pricing must be obtained directly from Savannah River.
For information on the Savannah River vehicle Contact: Lisa Joyce (803) 952-9972 at Savannah River.

Kansas City has hooked into Savannah River's contract price and receives the paper within 2 days delivery time.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory purchases all office products and 30% paper via a Just-in-Time agreement wih Boise Cascade. Contact: Lynne Dresser.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is purchasing Hammermill 30% post-consumer paper.
for $2.09/ream. Contact: David Wasserman

Hanford is purchasing Eureka 30% post-consumer paper from Service Paper Products for $2.22/ream delivered.
Contact: Robert A. Moore.

GSA is selling Aspen 20% content paper for $2.39 a ream], and is purchasing Aspen 30% post-consumer paper from Boise Cascade Office Products for $2.39/ream.
Contact: [?]

Idaho is purchasing UniSource Corp. (Weyerhauser) 30% post-consumer paper for $24.70/case (annual usage of 35,000 cases per year).
Contact: Michelle Wiest at mma@inel.gov

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is purchasing Great White 30% post-consumer paper from Staples delivered for $2.57/ream or $25.07/box. They also purchaseGreat White 25% post-consumer[?], multi-purpose paper, which gives better quality photos, graphs, and data.
Contact: Tom McGeachen

For a list of prices and suppliers from whom the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory purchases 30% post-consumer paper, see "paper" in the alphabetical listing in the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" section of the GreenGuide (http://www.pnl.gov/esp/greenguide/).

Quality Remanufactured Toner Cartridges Available

Successful purchasing of remanufactured toner cartridges involves investigating each vendor's quality control process, testing the cartridges (typically vendors will offer free remanufactured cartridges for testing), and establishing a closed-loop contract for the pick-up of spent cartridges and purchase of remanufactured ones. The contract should require the vendor to supply statistics on both spent cartridges returned and remanufactured cartridges purchased. Regular maintenance of printers is necessary for toner cartridges to produce quality prints.

Defense Logistics Agency (http://www.dfcr.dla.mil) offers quality remanufactured toner cartridges Tel. (800) 345-6333.

Argonne and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have found GRC to provide excellent remanufactured cartridges, which are available through Boise Cascade Office Products. Also, GRC has a remanufactured cartridge for the Hewlett Packard Deskjet 1600C color printer.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is testing Data Products remanufactured toner cartridges (available through Boise Cascade Office Products) and the results to date are very positive. For a list of prices and suppliers from whom PNNL purchases remanufactured toner cartridges, see "toner cartridge" in the alphabetical listing in the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" section of the GreenGuide (http://www.pnl.gov/esp/greenguide/).

Recharging Magazine (http://www.rechargermag.com) lists suppliers of remanufactured cartridges by area.

Remanufactured Toner Cartridge Concerns

GSA (advantage system) has a list of toner cartridges online, but only the word, "remanufactured," rather than the recycle symbol, denotes which are remanufactured. Also, there is some concern about the quality control of some of the cartridges listed.

Lexmark has a "Prebate program, which provides a price discount but restricts the use of the cartridge. Specifically, the box holding the cartridge states that by opening the box, the user agrees that the spent cartridge will not be resold, reused, refilled or remanufactured. The user is supposed to discard the spent cartridge or return it to Lexmark. Lexmark claims to be recycling the plastic and other parts in the cartridge. While the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive encourages manufacturers to be responsible for their products, they are concerned that the Prebate program will be detrimental to the remanufacturing industry. The Federal Trade Commission currently is examining the Prebate program for violations of anti-trust or consumer protection laws. At a minimum, it works against federal purchasing policy to use remanufactured toner cartridges or arrange for the remanufacturing of spent cartridges. OFEE wants to make you are aware of the implications of the Prebate program.

The federal prison industry sells remanufactured cartridges, but there have been numerous complaints about the quality of their product.

Fernald requested proposals for recycled content toner cartridges as well as remanufactured and received no proposals for recycled cartridges. Apparently, those advertised as recycled have problems verifying the recycled content.

Q. Because there will always be new printers for which spent parts are not available to create a remanufactured cartridge, how can we ever reach 100%?
A. To reach 100%, you need to document and report these exceptions.

Q. Where does DOE-HQ purchase their copy paper and toner cartridges?
A. DOE-HQ purchases 30% post-consumer copy paper from GPO.
Check back in these minutes for the source of HQ toner cartridges.

Topics Requested for Next Teleconference

Savannah River: Definition of "reasonable price"
Oak Ridge: Carpeting
NREL: Recycling containers.
Princeton: Recycled clear plastic trash liners
Kansas City: Justification for not purchasing the designated items with recycled content products and reach a definition everyone agrees on.
Hanford: Micro purchases

Next Meeting: April 29, 1999