High-grade paper generated by office facilities of over 100 office workers shall be separated at the source of generation, separately collected, and sold for the purpose of recycling.

The recovery of high-grade paper generated by office facilities of less than 100 office workers should be investigated in conformance with the following recommended procedures and implemented where feasible.

An investigation of markets should be made by the organization responsible for the sale of recyclable materials in each Federal agency and should include at a minimum:

(a) Identifying potential purchasers of the recovered paper through standard market research techniques;

(b) Directly contacting buyers, and determining the buyers' quality specifications, the exact types of paper to be recycled, potential transportation agreements and any minimum quantity criteria; and

(c) Determining the price that the buyer will pay for the recovered paper and the willingness of the buyer to sign a contract for purchase of the paper at a guaranteed minimum price.

A two-level separation is recommended for most facilities. This separation should consist of (a) high-grade wastepaper and (b) all other waste. Facilities that produce large enough quantities of waste computer paper and cards to make their separation into a separate category cost effective may choose to implement three levels of separation: (1) Computer papers, (2) other high-grade papers, (3) all other wastes.

(a) Systems designed to recover high grades of office paper at the source of generation, i.e., the desk, are the desktop system, the two-wastebasket system, and the office centralized container system.

(b) With the desk-top system, recyclable paper is placed by the generator in a container on his desk, while other waste is placed in a wastebasket. With the two-wastebasket system, recyclable paper is placed by the generator in one desk-side wastebasket, and all other waste is placed in another. In the centralized container system, large containers for the collection of recyclables are placed in centralized locations within the office areas of the building. Nonrecyclable waste is placed in desk-side wastebaskets.

(c) The recommended system is the desk-top system because it is designed to maximize recovery of high value material in an economically feasible manner. While the two-wastebasket system and centralized container system have been implemented with success in isolated instances, data indicate that, on the whole, these systems have experienced high levels of contamination, low levels of participation, and low revenues. The desk-top system has been designed to minimize these problems.

(d) The precise method of separation and collection used to implement the desk-top system will depend upon such things as the physical layout of the individual facility, the ease of collection, and the projected cost effectiveness of using various methods. The recommended desk-top system is carried out in the following manner:

(1) Workers are to deposit high-grade paper into a desk-top tray or other small desk-top holder to be supplied by the agency. This holder should be designed in such a way as to prevent it holding contaminants, such as food or beverage containers.

(2) At the office worker's convenience or when the tray is filled, the worker carries the paper to a conveniently located bulk container within the office area. This large container should be located in an area the worker frequents in the normal course of business.

(3) In locations where computer cards and printouts are to be collected separately, the receptacle for these wastes should be near the computer terminal or in some other logical, centrally located place.

(4) Collection of the high-grade paper from the bulk containers in the office area should be performed by the janitorial or general maintenance service.

(e) Mixed paper and some high-grade office papers have also been recovered for recycling by hand-picking in an individual building's trash room or at a centralized facility serving several buildings. With these hand-picking systems, recyclable waste is not separated at the source of generation, but is mixed with other waste in the usual manner and removed to a centralized location where recyclable paper is picked out of the mixed waste by hand. Facilities may choose to use this method of high-grade paper recovery if it is shown by analysis to be economically preferable to source separation.

Among the alternatives for paper storage are on-site bailing, the use of stationary compactors, or storage in corrugated boxes or normal waste containers. Stored paper should be protected from fire, inclement weather, theft, and vandalism.

Transportation to market may be supplied by the facility, by a private hauler, or by the purchaser. Collection of the recyclable paper should be on a regular, established schedule.

After potential markets have been located (but prior to initiation of formal bidding procedures), preliminary determinations of various separation methods, storage, and transportation costs have been made, and estimated tonnages of both recoverable high-grade paper and residual solid waste have been established, an analysis should be conducted which compares the costs of the present waste collection and disposal system with the proposed segregated systems. At a minimum, the study should include all capital, operating and overhead costs and take into account credits for revenue from paper sales and savings from diverting recycled materials from disposal. Potential costs to upgrade collection and disposal practices to comply with EPA's Guidelines for the Storage and Collection of Residential, Commercial and Institutional Solid Wastes (40 CFR part 243) and Thermal Processing and Land Disposal Guidelines (40 CFR parts 240 and 241) should be included in the analysis. In formulating a separation system and evaluating its costs, every effort should be made to use janitorial and waste collection resources efficiently. This cost analysis should enable the facility to determine the most cost effective method of implementing the requirement of this part.

Formal bids should be requested for purchase of the recovered materials, such bids being solicited in conformance with bidding procedures established for the responsible agency. Contracts should include the buyer's quality specifications, quantity and transportation agreements, a guarantee that the material will be accepted for one year or more, and a guaranteed minimum purchase price.

A well-organized and well-executed public information and education program explaining the justification, goals, methods and level of separation should be conducted to inform and motivate office personnel and secure their cooperation in separating their waste. This public information and education program should precede the program and continue on a regular basis for its duration.

Separation of used newspapers at the source of residential generation in conjunction with separate collection shall be carried out at all facilities in which more than 500 families reside, and the newspapers shall be sold for the purpose of recycling.

The recovery of newsprint generated by residential facilities of less than 500 families should be investigated in conformance with the following recommended procedures and implemented where feasible.

In areas where markets are available, it is recommended that glass, cans, and mixed paper be separated at the source of generation and separately collected for the purpose of recycling.

An investigation of markets should be made for each material by the organization responsible for sale of recyclable materials in each agency and should include at a minimum:

(a) Identifying potential purchasers of the recovered material through standard market research techniques.

(b) Directly contacting buyers and determining the buyers' quality specifications, potential transportation agreements and any minimum quantity criteria.

(c) Determining the prices that the buyer will pay for the recovered material and the willingness of the buyer to sign a contract for the purchase of the material at guaranteed minimum prices.

Following separation within the home, any of the following methods of collection may be used:

(a) Materials may be placed at the curbside by the resident and may be collected from each household using separate trucks or compartmentalized vehicles.

(b) For multi-family dwellings, separated materials may be placed in bulk containers located outside of the building and collected by trucks dispatched to collect recyclables.

(c) Collection stations may be set up at convenient locations to which residents bring recyclables. These stations should provide separate bulk containers for each item to be recycled. The size and type of container will depend on the volume and type of material collected, the method of transportation to be used in hauling the materials to market and the frequency of removal.

Transportation to market may be supplied by the facility or the community generating the waste, by a private hauler, or by the purchaser.

After potential markets have been located (but prior to initiation of formal bidding procedures), preliminary determinations of various separation methods, storage and transportation costs have been made, and estimated tonnages of both recoverable materials and residual solid waste have been established, an analysis should be conducted which compares the costs of the present waste collection and disposal system with the proposed segregated systems. At a minimum this study should include all capital, operating and overhead costs and take into account credits for revenue from paper sales and savings from diverting recycled materials from disposal. Potential costs to upgrade collection and disposal practices to comply with EPA's Guidelines for the Storage and Collection of Residential, Commercial and Institutional Solid Wastes (40 CFR part 243) and Thermal Processing and Land Disposal Guidelines (40 CFR parts 240 and 241) should be included in the analysis. In formulating a separate collection system and evaluating its costs, every effort should be made to use idle equipment and underutilized collection manpower to reduce separate collection costs. This cost analysis should enable the facility to determine the most cost effective method if implementing the requirements of this part.

Formal bids should be requested for purchase of the recovered materials, such bids being solicited in conformance with bidding procedures established for the responsible jurisdiction. Contracts should include the buyer's quality specifications, quantity and transportation agreements, a guarantee that the material will be accepted for one year or more and a guaranteed minimum purchase price.

A well organized and well executed public information and education program explaining the justification, goals, methods and level of separation should be conducted to inform and motivate householders and to secure their cooperation in separating their waste. This public information and education program should precede the program and continue on a regular basis for its duration.

Any commercial establishment generating 10 or more tons of waste corrugated containers per month shall separately collect and sell this material for the purpose of recycling.

The recovery of corrugated containers from commercial facilities generating less than 10 tons per month should be investigated in conformance with the following recommended procedures and implemented where feasible.

An investigation of markets should be made by the organization responsible for sale of recyclable material in each Federal agency and should include at a minimum:

(a) Identifying potential purchasers of the recovered corrugated through standard market research techniques.

(b) Directly contacting buyers and determining the buyers' quality specifications, potential transportation agreements and any minimum quantity criteria.

(c) Determining the price that the buyer will pay for the recovered corrugated and the willingness of the buyer to sign a contract for purchase of the paper at a guaranteed minimum price.

The method selected will depend upon such variables as the physical layout of the individual generating facility, the rate at which the corrugated accumulates, the storage capacity of the facility, and the projected cost-effectiveness of using the various methods. All of the following suggested modes of separation and storage presuppose that the corrugated boxes will be accumulated at a central location in the facility after their contents are removed and that the boxes are flattened.

(a) Balers of various sizes: Corrugated boxes are placed in balers and compacted into bales. These bales may be stored inside or outside of the facility. The bales should be protected from fire, inclement weather, theft, and vandalism.

(b) Stationary compactors or bulk containers: Corrugated boxes are placed in a stationary compactor or bulk containers outside of the facility. The containers should be protected from fire, inclement weather, theft and vandalism.

Transportation to market may be supplied by either the facility, a private hauler or the purchaser. In facilities to which goods are delivered from a central warehouse, corrugated may be backhauled by delivery trucks to the central facility and baled there for delivery to a user.

After potential markets have been identified (but prior to initiation of formal bidding), preliminary determinations of various separation methods, storage and transportation costs have been made, and estimated tonnages of both recoverable material and residual solid waste have been established, an analysis should be conducted which compares the costs of the present waste collection and disposal system with the proposed segregated systems. At a minimum, the study should include all capital, operating and overhead costs and take into account credits for revenue from paper sales and savings from diverting recycled materials from disposal. Potential costs to upgrade collection and disposal practices to comply with EPA's Guidelines for the Storage and Collection of Residential, Commercial and Institutional Solid Wastes (40 CFR part 243) and Thermal Processing and Land Disposal Guidelines (40 CFR parts 240 and 241) should be included in the analysis. This cost analysis should enable the facility to determine the most cost effective method of implementing these guidelines.

Formal bids should be requested for purchase of the recovered materials, such bids being solicited in conformance with bidding procedures established for the responsible agency. Contracts should include the buyer's quality specifications, transportation agreements, a guarantee that the material will be accepted for one year or more and a guaranteed minimum purchase price.