EPA Encourages Agencies and Contractors to Use Flowable Fill Containing Foundry Sands.

On January 19, EPA issued a final rule updating the federal Comprehensive Procurement Guideline, which requires federal, state and local governments to purchase 18 new types of products made with recycled materials. The new items recommended under this rule include office supplies, landscaping products and construction materials (including flowable fill). In addition to the recommendations for procurement, EPA also published a related document that lists two ways for the agencies and contractors to measure the amount of recovered materials in the 18 products and provides suggestions for the amount of recycled content. Most notable is the recommendation that procuring agencies should use flowable fill containing sands from ferrous foundries and/or coal fly ash. Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Executive Order 13101, EPA is required to designate items that are or can be made with recovered materials . Once EPA designates an item, any local, state or federal agency using federal funds to buy a listed product must purchase that product made with the highest possible percentage of recovered materials.