Procurement of plastic products from post-consumer recyclates Guidance for public procurement
With the increased demand for recycled plastic products, public procurement can make a significant contribution to the recycling of plastics. However, it faces some challenges in doing so: Access to information on plastic recyclates in products is not always easy, there are questions about possible proof of recyclate content, and there are definitely also conflicts of objectives with other requirements for green procurement. This handout supports procurers with information as well as recommendations and contains concrete formulation proposals for the invitation to tender for eight plastic products containing recyclates.
The handout summarizes the results of the Refoplan research project "Examination of concrete measures to increase the demand for recycled plastics and plastic products containing recyclates" (research code 3719 34 306 0). It was developed with the intensive collaboration of stakeholders from public procurement practice.
This handout is a result of the research project "Examination of concrete measures to increase the demand for recycled plastics and plastic products containing recyclates" (FKZ 3719 34 306 0). It serves as an information and a tendering aid for those responsible for procurement. For this purpose, chapter 1 explains the ecological, political, and legal motives behind the demand to increasingly procure recycled plastic products. Chapter 2 provides information on the technical possibilities and limits of plastic recyclate recovery and processing as well as access to information on the recyclate content in plastic products. Chapter 3 explains the regulations under public procurement law and basic design options for procurement. This chapter also contains proposals for regulations concerning the packaging used. Chapter 4 bundles the concrete formulation proposals for the award of contracts in eight sub-chapters, partly backed up with examples and evaluation matrices. Chapter 5 contains recommendations on how to deal with conflicting objectives that occur more frequently in the context of green procurement and particularly concern plastic products containing recycled materials.
