Recycled Content

Recycled content is the proportion of a product or material that consists of recycled material. In Canadian public procurement it is treated as a measurable attribute of a good, stated as a percentage and tied to the kind of recycled material used.

CanadaBuys procurement guidance on defining requirements distinguishes post-consumer recycled content and asks purchasers to identify the type and percentage of recycled materials in a good. You can see this in the CanadaBuys Supply Manual annexes. The term sits within green procurement, where environmental performance is weighed alongside price and quality.

Post-consumer content and how it differs from recyclability

Post-consumer recycled content is material recovered after use by consumers. CanadaBuys guidance asks specifically whether a good includes it and what share of the good's materials are recycled.

Recycled content is not the same as recyclability. Recyclability describes whether a product or material can be recycled after use. Recycled content describes what the product is already made from. The CanadaBuys guidance treats the two as separate questions, so a bid response should not use one to answer the other.

Where recycled content sits in federal green procurement

The Government of Canada describes green procurement as buying goods or services with a reduced environmental impact over their life cycle compared with alternatives that serve the same purpose. PSPC's guidance on applying the Policy on Green Procurement directs contracting authorities to include environmental considerations when they plan procurements, define requirements, acquire and operate assets, and dispose of goods.

Recycled content is one of the ways those considerations become concrete requirements. A contracting authority can write a recycled-content percentage into the statement of requirements for a good.

Recycled-content thresholds in federal paper requirements

Paper products are where recycled-content thresholds appear most often in federal sustainability reporting. The thresholds have changed over time, and they are usually paired with certification to a recognized environmental standard.

• An earlier federal commitment required procurement instruments for copy paper, publications and envelopes to call for at least 30% recycled fibre content and certification to a recognized environmental standard, as set out in a federal departmental report.
• A later departmental sustainability report states that copy paper, commercial printing and envelopes were to contain 100% recycled content and be certified to a recognized environmental standard. See the departmental sustainable development material.

Recycled fibre content is the form the requirement takes for paper, publications and envelopes. The target applies to the product category named in each commitment, so check the category before assuming a figure carries over.

Recycled-content regulations in preparation

Federal evaluation material from Environment and Climate Change Canada states that recycled-content regulations were being prepared. Once they are in place, ECCC intended to work with PSPC and the Treasury Board Secretariat to include recycled-content requirements in federal procurement. The detail is in the federal leadership towards zero plastic waste evaluation summary. This points to recycled-content criteria becoming more common in federal solicitations, particularly for plastic goods.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

The obligation depends on the solicitation. Where a tender includes a recycled-content criterion, you must offer goods that meet the stated percentage or material requirement and provide any evidence requested. That evidence can include product specifications, declarations or environmental certification.

• Read the requirements for the type of recycled material and the stated percentage.
• Check whether the criterion refers to post-consumer content or to recycled content generally.
• Confirm whether certification to a recognized environmental standard is required alongside the percentage.
• Keep recyclability claims separate from recycled-content claims in your response.

Suppliers of paper, printing and envelopes should expect recycled-content and certification requirements most often. Suppliers of other goods should be ready to state the type and percentage of recycled material in their products.