In a Federal Register posting, the General Services Administration, National Aeronautical and Space Administration, and U.S. Department of Defense have moved to formalize the requirement that federal construction contract specifiers implement Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) resource recovery and waste minimization guidelines. It would ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency's preference program is consistently implemented by government agencies in construction and service acquisition.

Titled “Use of Products Containing Recovered Materials In Service and Construction Contracts,” the agencies' posting proposes an amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to clarify language on the use of products containing recovered materials, pursuant to RCRA and Executive Order 13101, “Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition.” Where concrete specs are concerned, the RCRA guidelines encompass materials such as fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag for FAR-bound construction. The RCRA requirement offers federal agencies procurement flexibility when products containing recovered materials are not available in a reasonable timeframe or at competitive prices, or do not meet a project's performance standards. — North American Concrete Alliance