Buying Recycled: 16 Reportable Categories

What’s Required?

State agencies must purchase recycled products instead of non-recycled products whenever recycled products are available if fitness and quality are equal with no more than 10% greater cost over non-recycled products.The State Legislature has mandated that state agencies purchase goods and materials from 16 product categories. (Public Contract Code (PCC) section 12201(c) and AB 661, Bennet. Recycling: materials).

State agencies shall ensure each of the following to accomplish the mandate:

  • Report purchases within the 16 product categories (PCC section 12209).
  • The reportable purchases shall meet each product category’s minimum recycled-content requirement and be applied to the total dollar amount of each specified product category.
  • At least 75 percent of the total reportable purchases shall contain postconsumer recycled-content materials, except for paint, antifreeze, and tires, which remain at the 50 percent requirement. (PCC section 12201(c)).
  • The purchase of a recycled product from one category may not be applied toward the requirements or the total dollar amount of any other category (PCC section 12203(d)).
  • If a product is made of more than one type of material, it may be a composite product. Guidance on composite products can be found in the Reporting Policy.
  • State agency procurement and contracting officers, or their designees, from all agencies shall participate in annual mandatory training that can be found at CalPCA – EPP Intermediate Module.
SABRC product categories infographic. Glass text with arrow pointing; Plastic text with arrow pointing at City Hall sign; Tire-Derived Products Rubber Mat text with arrow pointing at a door mat; Mulch text with arrow pointing at pile of mulch; Plastic text with arrow pointing at a public bench; Tires text with arrow pointing to a truck tires; Paint text with arrow pointing at the paint of a building; Motor Oil & Anti-Freeze text with arrow pointing at the front of a truck.

Note: Reused or refurbished products should be considered 100 percent recycled, and there is no minimum-content required.

For composite products made of more than one material type, please refer to the Composite Product Reporting Policy. 

 

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Paper Products

Recycled paper is significantly better for the environment than virgin (nonrecycled) paper. Recycled paper has a lower impact on forest resources, produces less air and water pollution, uses less water and energy to produce, and creates less solid waste as a manufacturing byproduct. Recycled paper is available in most varieties and is comparable in quality to virgin paper. 

Eligible product types include: 

  • Paper towels
  • Packaging
  • Corrugated boxes
  • Cartons
  • Wrapping
  • Paper janitorial supplies:
    • toilet paper (min 45% PCRC),
    • paper towels (min 40% PCRC),
    • facial tissue (min 10% PCRC),
    • toilet seat covers (min 20% PCRC),
  • General purpose paper wipes (min 40% PCRC)
  • File folders and hanging file folders.
  • Building insulation and panels
  • Food service ware: napkins, plates, bowls, food trays, take-out boxes, and placemats (min 30% PCRC).

Minimum Content Requirement 

  • At least 30 percent postconsumer content.
  • At least 75 percent of the total dollars spent must be used to purchase postconsumer recycled content products.

California Paper Manufacturers* 

*Identification of individuals, companies, and products on this list does not automatically guarantee compliance with SABRC, EPP, local air quality, or other agency specific requirements, nor does it constitute endorsement by CalRecycle. Please purchase according to your agency’s minimum requirements or standards. CalRecycle publishes this information to increase public awareness and to build markets for recycled content products. This list is not comprehensive. 

Useful Links 

Printing and Writing Paper

Recycled paper is significantly better for the environment than virgin (nonrecycled) paper. Recycled paper has a lower impact on forest resources, produces less air and water pollution, uses less water and energy to produce, and creates less solid waste as a manufacturing byproduct. Recycled printing and writing paper is available for many products and is comparable in quality to virgin paper. 

Eligible product types include:   

  • Copy
  • Xerographic
  • Watermark
  • Cotton fiber
  • Offset
  • Forms
  • Computer printouts
  • White wove envelopes
  • Manila envelopes
  • Uncoated writing papers
  • Note pads
  • Writing tables
  • Newsprint
  • Posters
  • Index cards
  • Calendars
  • Brochures
  • Reports
  • Magazines
  • Publications
  • Book paper

Minimum Content Requirement 

  • At least 30 percent postconsumer content.
  • At least 75 percent of the total dollars spent must be used to purchase postconsumer recycled content products.

California Paper Manufacturers* 

 *Identification of individuals, companies, and products on this list does not automatically guarantee compliance with SABRC, EPP, local air quality, or other agency specific requirements, nor does it constitute endorsement by CalRecycle. Please purchase according to your agency’s minimum requirements or standards. CalRecycle publishes this information to increase public awareness and to build markets for recycled content products. This list is not comprehensive. 

Useful Links 

Soil Amendments and Soil Toppings

Soil amendments shall consist of compost or mulch materials, or both, that would otherwise be normally disposed of in landfills rather than virgin or petroleum-based materials.  Soil amendments are used to improve soils quality, reduce weeds, increase water retention, and improve aesthetics.

Compost and mulch are recycled and recovered organic waste products created from food scraps and yard waste. California launched a new statewide food scraps and yard waste collection program, which is producing an abundance of these products that help reverse climate change and fight the drought.  

  • Soil amendments, soil conditioner for potting or plant soil mix that include compost or mulch made from recycled organics.
  • Soil toppings, such ground covers, weed suppressants

 

Minimum Content Requirement 

  • At least 80 percent postconsumer content.
  • At least 75 percent of soil amendment and toppings total dollars spent must be used to purchase postconsumer products meeting the 80 percent postconsumer content.

Useful Links

  • Looking for Compost – Find a SB 1383 compliant compost facility near you.
  • Compost and Mulch Producers. Includes an FAQ about compost and mulch producers and more information about permits and regulations, marketing, product quality, and infrastructure surveys.
  • Bay-Friendly Landscape Guidelines. A public service by the Alameda County Waste Management and Recycling Board. Guidelines providing a whole systems approach to the design, construction, and maintenance of landscapes to support the integrity of a San Francisco Bay Area watershed.
  • Compost and Mulch Toolbox. This toolbox is a one-stop reference on the use of compost and mulch on different landscapes, and as a component of systems and treatments designed for carbon sequestration, erosion control, fire remediation, stormwater management and other uses.
    • BMP Webinar
  • Compost and Mulch Specs. Includes product quality, and how to verify that compost and mulch products meet specifications.
  • CalRecycle Compost and Yard Trimmings Publications. 

Erosion Control Products

Erosion can be devastating and costly, such as soil run-off after a fire. Erosion control products are used to prevent further damage, stabilize slopes, and reinforce the soil. Many erosion control products can be made out of recycled and recovered organic waste products created from food scraps and yard waste.

Eligible products include: 

  • Compost filter socks
  • Compost blankets
  • Hydraulic mulch or hydro-mulching

Minimum Content Requirement 

  • At least 100 percent postconsumer content.
  • At least 75 percent of erosion control total dollars spent must be used to purchase postconsumer products meeting the 100 percent postconsumer content.

Useful Links 

  • Using Organics for Erosion Control. Information on the types of compost-based erosion control products, types of application and research and case studies.
  • including specifications, publications, compost calculators, and event schedules.
  • Erosion Control Toolbox. Caltrans toolbox to design successful, cost-effective and sustainable erosion control treatments.

Glass Products

Most glass products can be melted repeatedly to produce the same or other types of products. The technology for recycling glass is relatively simple. Although glass can be re-melted and changed from one form into another, a problem arises in separating the glass from other materials (e.g., separating the glass in a light bulb from other non-glass components, or tempered glass). Although most glass is composed of silica, soda and lime, the type and quantity of other compounds vary in different types of glass.  Nearly all commercial glasses fall into one of these types. 

Example glass types include: 

  • Windows
  • Test tubes
  • Beakers
  • Laboratory or hospital supplies
  • Fiberglass (insulation)
  • Packaging
  • Reflective beads
  • Tiles
  • Construction blocks
  • Flat glass sheets
  • Deburring media
  • Containers
  • Liquid filter media
  • Desktop accessories
  • Loose-grain abrasives
     

 Minimum Content Requirement 

  • At least 25 percent postconsumer content total weight.
  • At least 75 percent of the total dollars spent must be used to purchase postconsumer glass.

California Recycled Glass Manufacturers and Vendors* 

Some of the recycled glass manufacturers in California are listed below and you may find more in Department of General Service’s Buying Green Guide for Lightbulbs. 

  • Ardagh Group 24441 Avenue 12Madera, California 93637
  • FireClay Tile, Inc.521 Quarry RoadAromas, California 95004, (800) 773-2226
  • Glass Packaging Institute: Nationwide Institute covers glass from A to Z, including glass resource locators and industry resources in California.

*Purchasing glass from any of these manufacturers does not automatically guarantee compliance with SABRC, EPP, local air quality, or other agency specific requirements. Please purchase according to your agency’s minimum requirements or standards. Identification of individuals, companies, and products on this list does not constitute an endorsement by CalRecycle. CalRecycle publishes this information to increase public awareness and to build markets for recycled content products. This list is not comprehensive. 

Lubricating Oil Products

Recycled or reclaimed motor oil products are subject to the same stringent refining, compounding, and performance standards applied to virgin oil products. API-licensed re-refined oils must pass the same cold-start, pumpability, rust-corrosion, engine-wear, and high-temperature viscosity tests that virgin oils do. The API and American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAMA) have developed the Engine Oil Licensing Certification System (EOLCS) to ensure all engine oils consistently meet performance specifications.

Rerefining is an energy-efficient and environmentally beneficial method of managing used oil. Less energy is required to produce a gallon of re-refined base stock than a base stock from crude oil. Lubricating oil does not wear out, it simply becomes dirty as it does its job. Once water and contaminants are removed from collected used oil, it is returned to a full and useful life as a rerefined base oil. There is no compromise in the quality of rerefined oil.

Examples of product types include: 

  • Crankcase
  • Transmission
  • Engine
  • Power steering
  • Gearbox
  • Differential chainsaw
  • Transformer dielectric fluid
  • Cutting
  • Hydraulic
  • Industrial
  • Automobile
  • Bus
  • Truck
  • Vessel
  • Plane
  • Train
  • Heavy equipment
  • Machinery powered by internal combustion engine

Minimum Content Requirement 

  • At least 70 percent postconsumer content. 
  • At least 75 percent of the total dollars spent must be used to procure recycled lubricating oil products meeting the requirement.

Where to Buy 

Example manufacturer in California is listed below:

Identification of individuals, companies, and products on this list does not constitute an endorsement by CalRecycle. CalRecycle publishes this information to increase public awareness and to build markets for recycled products produced by manufacturers in California. This list is not comprehensive. 

Useful Links 

Plastic Products

Purchasing recycled plastic products reduce life-cycle environmental impacts of plastic products and packaging and to foster appropriate end-of-life management of plastic discards. Various programs and activities offer comprehensive approaches to managing plastic materials, ranging from product design and material choices to market incentives and infrastructure improvements.   Plastic buy recycled programs are essential to increase the economy of scale for recycled plastic production so that recycled plastic can compete with new plastic.

Eligible product types include: 

  • Trays
  • Office products
  • Plastic lumber
  • Buckets
  • Wastebaskets
  • Containers
  • Benches
  • Tables
  • Fencing
  • Clothing
  • Mats
  • Packaging
  • Signs
  • Posts
  • Binders
  • Sheet
  • Plastic food service ware
  • Printer or duplication cartridges

Minimum Content Requirement 

  • At least 20 percent of postconsumer recycled content.
  • Recycled printer or duplication cartridges must instead comply with either the requirements found in subdivision (e) of Section 12156 or the general requirement for recycled plastic
  • At least 75 percent of the total dollars spent must be used to purchase postconsumer recycled plastic products.
  • Remanufactured or take back programs for products like ink cartridges and toners qualify as SABRC compliant purchases.

California Recycled Plastic Products, Materials, and Manufacturers Information  

Useful Links 

Plastic Trash Bag Program. California’s trash bag law requires plastic trash bag manufacturers to use a specific amount of postconsumer plastic material to produce the trash bags sold in California. It also sets requirements on those selling or distributing regulated trash bags in California. Noncompliant companies are ineligible for award of any state contract or subcontract. Recycled-content plastic trash bags that comply with this law also satisfy the minimum content requirements of SABRC in the plastic category.

Paint

Recycled paint is less expensive than virgin paint. It is also durable and comparable in quality to virgin paint.  Recycled paint is available in numerous grades, colors, and percentages of postconsumer content.  Recycled latex paint can meet a wide variety of specifications and can contain additives such as anti-mildew fungicides and color pigments that can be matched between batches.

Eligible product types include: 

  • Water-based paint
  • Graffiti abatement
  • Interior and exterior
  • Maintenance
  • Primer
  • Low-VOC paint/primer
  • Direct-to-metal
  • Stain-blocker
  • Asphalt sealer

Minimum Content Requirement 

  • At least 50 percent postconsumer content.
  • At least 50 percent of the total dollars spent must be used to purchase recycled postconsumer paint. 

California Recycled Paint Manufacturers* 

*Purchasing paint from any of these manufacturers does not automatically guarantee compliance with SABRC, EPP, local air quality, or other agency specific requirements. Please purchase according to your agency’s minimum requirements or standards. Identification of individuals, companies, and products on this list does not constitute endorsement by CalRecycle. CalRecycle distributes/publishes this information to increase public awareness and to build markets for recycled content products. This list should not be considered comprehensive. 

Useful Links 

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Antifreeze

Antifreeze, a common engine coolant, is a mixture of water (3%), additives (2%), and ethylene or propylene glycol (95%). In California it is illegal to dispose of antifreeze in the trash, ground, or storm drains, because it can contaminate groundwater, surface water, and drinking water supplies and harm human, animal, and plant life. The Department of Toxic Substances (DTSC) regulates antifreeze because it is hazardous to public health and the environment. Fortunately, antifreeze can be easily recycled. Ethylene and propylene glycols are manufactured from natural gas and crude petroleum, both of which are non-renewable resources. Recycling antifreeze conserves the earth’s limited natural resources by reclaiming glycol. 
[Learn More] 

Eligible product types include:

  • recycled antifreeze,
  • antifreeze containing a bittering agent, or
  • antifreeze made from polypropylene or other similar non-toxic substances  

Minimum Content Requirements 

  • At least 70 percent postconsumer content.
  • At least 50 percent total dollars spent on antifreeze must be used towards purchasing  antifreeze that meet the criterial above.

California Recycled Antifreeze Manufacturers* 

*Identification of individuals, companies, and products on this list does not automatically guarantee compliance with SABRC, Environmentally Preferable Purchasing policies (EPP), local air quality, or other agency specific requirements, nor does it constitute endorsement by CalRecycle. Please purchase according to your agency’s minimum requirements or standards. This list is not comprehensive.

Tires

Retreading tires, where the worn tread is buffed away on a carefully inspected tire and a new tread is bonded to the tire body, has significant environmental and cost benefits. Retreading conserves oil, reduces CO2 emissions, water consumption, and air pollution. Retreaded tires are also less expensive than new tires and meet the same safety and durability standards. 

Eligible products include : 

  • Truck tires
  • Bus vehicle tires
  • Fleet vehicle tires
  • Passenger car tires (where available)

Minimum Content Requirements

  • Must use an existing casing that has undergone retreading or recapping process.
  • At least 50 percent of the total dollars spent must be used to purchase retreaded tires.

California Retread Tire Manufacturers* 

  • Y Tire Sales 2969 W Valley Boulevard
    Alhambra, California 91803(626) 570-1113 

* Identification of individuals, companies, and products on this list does not constitute an endorsement by CalRecycle. CalRecycle distributes/publishes this information to increase public awareness and to build markets for recycled products made from organic materials collected in California jurisdictions. This list is not comprehensive. 

Useful Links  

DGS’s Buying Green lGuide for Tires: Lists green contracts, specification standards, buying tips, and resources. Tires are listed under Transportation – Parts and Equipment.

Tire-Derived Products

Tires can be recycled into many new products, including roadways, landscape and walking surfaces, running tracks, and playground surfaces.  Tire-derived products (TDP) can satisfy established technical testing standards for building construction, traffic control, paving and many other applications while offering many unique performance benefits. Many TDP vendors provide documentation on recycled content or other benefits that can help to satisfy green building requirements, such as the new CALGreen regulations or to earn credits through programs such as LEED.

Eligible products include:

  • Flooring
  • Mats
  • Wheelchair ramps
  • Playground and sports surfacing
  • Parking bumpers
  • Bullet traps
  • Hoses
  • Truck bed liners
  • Walkways
  • Tree ties
  • Wheel chocks
  • Rollers
  • Traffic-related products
  • Mud flaps
  • Accessibility ramps
  • Paths and sidewalks
  • Artificial turf
  • Landscaping and rubber mulch
  • Outdoor surfacing
  • Pavers and tiles
  • Floor and agricultural mats
  • Crumb rubber
  • Rubber mulch
  • Rubberized sidewalks or tree wells
  • Loose-fill or pour-in-place playgrounds
  • Tiled or rolled recreational flooring
  • Sports tracks or synthetic turf fill
  • Pavement surfacing, including rubberized pavement surfaces and recycled asphalt pavement
  • Animal care products such mats and barn flooring

Purchasing Tire-Derived Products

This catalog provides information about the broad range of products made from recycled tires and their benefits focused exclusively on products made in California from 100 percent California-generated tires.

California Tire-Derived Product Catalog

* The manufacturers and products listed are part of the Tire program. Purchasing products from any of these manufacturers does not automatically guarantee compliance with SABRC, EPP, local air quality, or other agency specific requirements. Please purchase according to your agency’s minimum requirements or standards. Identification of individuals, companies, and products on this page and within the associated Tire Derived Product Catalog does not constitute endorsement. CalRecycle publishes this information to increase public awareness and to build markets for recycled content products. This list is not comprehensive.

Useful Links

Pavement Surfacing

Recycling of asphalt pavement can save money for local governments and other purchasers, create additional business opportunities, save energy when recycling is done on site, conserve diminishing resources of aggregates and petroleum products, reuse of scrap tire rubber and the diversion of the tires from landfill disposal or stockpiles and help the state of California in creating a sustainable circular economy.

Eligible paint products include:

  • Rubberized pavement surfaces
  • Recycled asphalt pavement

Purchasing Pavement Surfacing Products

This catalog provides information about the broad range of products made from recycled tires and their benefits focused exclusively on products made in California from 100 percent California-generated tires.

California Tire-Derived Product Catalog

* The manufacturers and products listed are part of the Tire program. Purchasing products from any of these manufacturers does not automatically guarantee compliance with SABRC, EPP, local air quality, or other agency specific requirements. Please purchase according to your agency’s minimum requirements or standards. Identification of individuals, companies, and products on this page and within the associated Tire Derived Product Catalog does not constitute endorsement. CalRecycle publishes this information to increase public awareness and to build markets for recycled content products. This list is not comprehensive.

Useful Links

Metal Products

https://www.steel.org/sustainability/All metal is recyclable, not just food and drink cans.  Agencies may be unsure if metal used in a product is recycled or not. Per the steel industry, all steel products meet the postconsumer mandates for the metal category. Inclusion of recycled content is inherent in other metal industries, although CalRecycle does not yet have certification.

Eligible products include: 

  • Aluminum
    • Construction products, foil, wire
  • Brass
    • Ammunition casings
  • Copper
    • Bullets, pipe, wire
  • Iron
    • Auto parts, cast iron cookware, steel products
  • Lead
    • Car batteries, bullets
  • Steel
    • Construction products: nails, screws, pipe, rebar
    • Office supplies: file cabinets, scissors, staples

Minimum Content Requirements 

  • Minimum content requirement: 10 percent, by weight, of postconsumer material (PCC section 12209(k)).
  • At least 75 percent of the total dollars spent within this category must be used to procure metal that meets the 10 percent postconsumer content requirement.
  • Please see the SABRC section on the State Agency’s Laws and Regulation web page for general, relevant SABRC legislation.

Purchasing Metal Products

Useful Links

  • The Aluminum Association: Provides an overview of aluminum, including the global standards and industry statistics for aluminum as a metal product.
  • Aluminum Extruders Council: A comprehensive website describing how aluminum is extruded.
  • International Lead Association: Provides sustainability policies for member companies, latest news articles, publications, and conferences regarding lead.
  • Design for Recycled Content Guide: The Sustainable Packaging Coalition provides information on recycled content and how to design packaging that incorporates recycled content in order to drive demand for recycled materials, such as aluminum and steel.
  • Content Value of Steel Building Products: This site provides postconsumer and pre-consumer recycled content percentages for North American steel building products and is considered acceptable documentation by the USGBC LEED rating system and green codes and standards.

Building Finishes

Eligible products include, but are not limited to open office panel systems.

Minimum Content Requirements

  • Middle range of state contracts

Purchasing Products

Useful Links 

Carpet

California is the first state to require a statewide carpet recycling program designed and implemented by carpet manufacturers with CalRecycle oversight. Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) is the manufacturers’ stewardship organization that implements the program.  Using carpet with recycled content is great source of materials for plastics, relieves landfill burdens, sustainable product.  Recycling carpet at the end of its’ useful life can create products such as insulation, carpet pads, building siding, floor mats and plastic pallets.

Eligible products include: carpet.

Minimum Content Requirements 

  • Minimum content requirement: Determined by DGS and Posted in SCM
  • At least 75 percent of the total dollars spent within this category must be used to procure metal that meets the percent postconsumer content requirement.

Useful Links

  • List of Compliant Manufacturers. Manufacturers that are covered under CARE’s carpet stewardship program and are in compliance.
  • Carpet Materials Management. Statewide carpet recycling program designed and implemented by carpet manufacturers with CalRecycle oversight. Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) is the manufacturers’ stewardship organization that implements the program
  • Products made from Recycled Carpets.  List of manufacturers using post-consumer carpet materials.

Textiles

Textile products include a broad range of items made of thread, yarn, fabric, or cloth. Examples include clothes, fabric trimmings, draperies, and all natural and synthetic cloth fibers.  Every year, Californians spend more than $70 million to dispose of used textiles in landfills. Ninety-five percent of this material is reusable or recyclable. California has set an ambitious goal of 75 percent recycling, composting, or source reduction of solid waste by 2020 by taking a statewide approach to decreasing California’s reliance on landfills. Managing our textile waste responsibly is essential to this effort.

Eligible products include:

  • General textile wipes
  • Sheets and pillow cases
  • Pillows
  • Draperies
  • Flags
  • ANSI Garments
  • Highway construction & maintenance garments
  • Safety vests
  • Hospital and institutional garments

 

Content Requirements  

  • Minimum content requirement for textiles: 0 percent, by weight, of postconsumer material (PCC section 12209®).
  • Minimum content requirement for general textile wipes: 100 percent, by weight, of postconsumer material (PCC section
  • At least 75 percent of the total dollars spent within this category must be used to procure metal that meets the 10 percent postconsumer content requirement.

Purchasing Products

For more information contact: State Agency Buy Recycled Campaign, SABRC@calrecycle.ca.gov