Purchasing for Durability and Waste Prevention
The following are various techniques for purchasing durable and low-waste products:
- Eliminate Products: Prevent waste by changing the way a job is accomplished and eliminate a product altogether
- Buy Durable Products: Use life-span cost analysis to justify upfront costs by showing savings achieved over time, and use warranties to evaluate expected replacement period
- Eliminate Disposable Products: Buy things that can be cleaned, refilled, recharged, or re-used. Single-use products are cheaper upfront, but usually end up being more expensive over time, they also add disposal costs and risk associated with toxic items such as batteries
- Buy Used or Remanufactured Products: Used items can still meet performance requirements, provide cost savings, and divert substantial quantities of wood, metal, and plastic from the waste stream. Some products to consider buying refurbished are: furniture, office equipment, toner cartridges, and re-refined oil for fleets
- Lease Rather Than Purchase: Lease agreements for equipment can incorporate optional upgrades over a specified period of time. Lease agreements also can incorporate a requirement for the return of equipment to the manufacturer, eliminating the need for the City to manage huge quantities of unwanted, but still usable, products and equipment. Examples include: computers, copiers, telecommunication equipment, carpet, and any infrequently used equipment
- Reduce Packaging: use purchasing specifications and vendor commitments to drive down excess packaging, return reusable packaging to vendors,
- Install bulk dispensers for cleaning, automotive maintenance, food and beverage purchases
- Think About Recyclability: purchase products and specify product packaging that is compatible with the City’s recycling programs — composite materials should be avoided as they tend to be harder to recycle
RATIONALE
Durability and waste prevention are largely determined during the design phase of product development. A city cannot influence these factors after a purchase has been made, therefore it is crucial to understand how long a product will perform a given task and what materials cannot be diverted beforehand.
EFFORT REQUIRED
Purchasers will have to perform product research and create models to predict life-span costs. The effort required will depend largely on how detailed the product research is, and how broad the scope of the life-span analysis is. It would be relatively simple to estimate the total cost to a city from purchase to disposal, while the excavation and manufacturing inputs would be much harder to document and evaluate.
BENEFIT
- Reduce operational and disposal costs
- Reduce extraction of virgin materials
- Boost recycling industry, create jobs
RISKS
- Upfront costs may be greater
- Staff may need to be trained for new procedures
- Research will be required to source appropriate products
ACTION AGENT(S)
- Environmental Programs Division
- Purchasing Division
- Public Works Division
- Engineering Division
- Fleet Maintenance Division
- City Council
COST
Many of the practices listed above actually reduce overall costs, but for those that require a greater upfront investment, life-span cost analysis can provide a basis for specification.
