Step #11: Monitor Program Results & Identification Of Opportunities For Exapnasion

As the program progresses, the results need to be monitored and corrections made. Don't forget that, in addition to recycling waste products, a focused effort needs to be made when purchasing new materials for the plant.

Purchasing Environmentally Preferable Products - The purchase of products containing recycled material is a necessary part of closing the reuse/recycling loop. While the program manager is the chief advocate, the environmental program team members are important supporters. The effectiveness and success of this program requires senior level interest to motivate users and procurers.

Why You Should Buy Recycled Products - Americans generate a huge amount of garbage. In 1991, the amount of waste generated in the United States exceeded 280 million tons. The bulk of our waste continues to be landfilled while the number of landfills decreases; tipping fees and transportation costs increase; new landfill sites are hampered by environmental concerns and permitting constraints; and states try to close their borders to out-of-state waste. For these reasons, interest in recycling is at an all-time high.

You are probably familiar with the recycling logo, with its three chasing arrows. The arrows represent the three elements of the recycling process.

• Collecting materials that otherwise would be thrown away.
• Manufacturing new products from those materials.
• Purchasing the new products.

Recycling isn't completed until the materials we collect are turned into new products and those products are purchased. This complete cycle is known as closing the loop.

For recycling to succeed, businesses need to take action by purchasing recycled materials when possible. Purchasing agents can have a positive impact on buying recycled.

• You have a tremendous opportunity to help resolve the national solid waste management problem.
• By being proactive in learning about the broad range of available recycled products and how they can be used by your company, you can lead your company in an activity that ultimately will save money, contribute to the success of your corporate recycling program, be good for the environment, and foster goodwill among employees and customers.
• What your company buys has a direct relationship to what it throws away. If disposal can be avoided by reducing, reusing, or recycling materials, then your company can avoid related labor, storage, and disposal costs. Similarly, if your company can reuse materials or reduce what it uses, then it will save on material costs.

Many companies are purchasing recycled products. Given the public pressure to increase recycling collection programs and to minimize waste generation, it is essential to expand recycling programs.

Quality customer service and sound business management should guide the implementation of a buy recycled program. The "Buy Recycled" Business Alliance members believe that purchasers and suppliers should voluntarily and aggressively implement buy recycled programs. To assist in understanding how recycled products can be labeled, the following list of terms and abbreviations is provided.