Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition
Orders Agencies to Prioritize Waste Prevention and Recycled Goods
What it does
Agencies must incorporate waste prevention, recycling, and preference for recycled and environmentally preferable products into procurement and operations, and set related goals and plans.
Real-world impact
- Requires federal purchases of recycled and environmentally preferable products.
- Sets minimum recycled content for federal printing and writing paper, effective January 1, 1999.
- Creates new agency positions, committees, and reporting duties for environmental programs.
Topics
Summary
This order requires federal agencies to make waste prevention and recycling part of daily operations and to prefer products made from recovered or environmentally preferable materials.
It creates a Steering Committee, a Federal Environmental Executive, a Task Force, and Agency Environmental Executives, and directs agencies to adopt procurement programs, set waste and purchasing goals, and report progress.
The order aims to expand markets for recycled products, reduce pollution, and improve federal purchasing of greener goods.
Questions, answered
Ask questions about this executive order and its implications. Try:
- “What agencies are affected by this order?”
- “How does this order change existing policy?”
- “What are the practical implications of this order?”