TITLE
RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A POLICY FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY FAVORING WASTE-REDUCTION, ENVIRONMENTALLY-BASED PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES AND THE PURCHASING OF COMMODITIES CONTAINING RECYCLED OR RECYCLABLE CONTENT

BODY
WHEREAS, the STATE of FLORIDA enacted legislation in 1988 requiring "Any State agency or agency of a political subdivision of the State which is using State funds… is required to procure products or materials with recycled content when those products or materials are available at reasonable prices." Section 403.7065 of the Florida Statutes. The objective is to develop a policy and program that encourages waste minimization and,

WHEREAS, the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) has issued guidelines implementing Section 6002 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) which Congress passed; and,

WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County wishes to promote the use of waste-reducing, recycled and recyclable products in an effort to stimulate the demand for such products and to reduce the solid waste stream; and,

WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners has found and determined that adopting a procurement policy and an affirmative procurement program requiring the use of such products will both reduce the amount of waste generated and will increase the overall demand for recycled and recyclable products; and,

WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners has recognized that the development and implementation of a comprehensive recycling program will be a stimulus to County progress in the area of waste management and serve as a model for other public entities and private sector companies; and,

WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners recognizes that implementation of this program will bring the County into conformance with Florida State Law, which includes requirements for the procurement of products or materials with recycled content by local governments according to the Solid Waste Management Act of 1988; and

WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners wishes to reaffirm its commitment to the County's "In-house Recycling Program" and establish similar programs for employee participation in addition to new and existing recycling markets; and,

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TO: Honorable Chairperson and Members DATE:
Board of County Commissioners

FROM: Steve Shiver SUBJECT: Resolution Establishing A Policy for Miami-
County Manager Dade County Favoring Waste Reduction, Environmentally-Based Promotional Activities And the Purchasing of Commodities Containing Recycled or Recyclable Content

This substitute item being submitted includes the addition of paragraph 2 in the Background Section to address additional information requested by Commissioner Sosa during the April 15th, 2003 Government Operations and Environment Committee Meeting.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Board approve the attached resolution establishing a policy for Miami-Dade County favoring waste reduction, environmentally-based promotional activities and the purchasing of commodities containing recycled or recyclable content. This will also serve to reestablish the Recycling Management Committee under the Department of Environmental Resources Management with the new name, The Miami-Dade Resource Conservation Committee, and will further the Committee’s original goals of promoting waste reduction and encouraging County procurement of recycled-content products and supplies.

MANAGER'S BACKGROUND
The Recycling Management Committee was created in 1992 pursuant to Resolution No. R-214-92 (attached for reference), which also established “a procurement policy for Metropolitan Dade County favoring waste-reduction and implementing a program to purchase commodities containing recycled or recyclable content.” This resolution was passed in order to facilitate meeting and exceeding the mandates of the Florida Solid Waste Act of 1988, which called for a 30% reduction in the solid waste stream by 1994, as well as Florida Statute 403.7065, which states in part “…any State agency or agency of a political subdivision of the State which is using State funds…is required to procure products or materials with recycled content when those products or materials are available at reasonable prices.” The Committee was chaired by the Director of GSA Procurement Management or a designee, and was comprised of representatives from “departments most affected by the recycling program.” The primary responsibility of the Committee has been to promote recycling to County Departments, facilitate Departments’ recycling activities, and assist GSA Procurement Management in promoting the “use of waste-reducing products, recycled products and recyclable products.”








Miami-Dade County employees and operations are the targets of the Committee activities since other existing DERM and DSWM programs target the general public. Revenues collected from the County’s recycling contract, currently with American Paper Recycling Inc., fund the Committee’s activities, such as promotion of recycling and waste reduction to departments, assistance to departments’ in their recycling efforts, education of Committee members, and sponsorship of appropriate environmental activities and conferences. Therefore, there is no additional cost to the County for the Committee’s activities. Currently, there is a net fund balance of approximately $53,000.00, which has accrued over the last nine years, available for these efforts.

When the Department of Procurement Management separated from General Services Administration approximately three years ago, the Committee realized that it would be necessary to either sunset the Committee, reestablish the Committee under the new Department of Procurement Management, or reestablish the Committee under a different department. Since most departments already had established recycling programs the Committee decided to begin focusing more efforts on promoting the use of waste reducing, recycled, and recycled products, and determined that the Committee could facilitate these activities better under the purview of the Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM). It is anticipated that by operating under DERM the Committee will also be able to assist Departments in other environmentally preferable activities and procurement by working with existing pollution prevention initiatives.