New York Sets Green Purchasing Guidelines for Traffic Cones and More

Published December 14, 2008

A New York State committee has drafted 18 new green procurement guidelines, covering printers, traffic cones, air conditioners and other products and services.

Earlier this year an executive order established a Green Procurement and Agency Sustainability Program, also setting up a committee that would determine how to green all aspects of state purchasing.

The committee has approved 18 tentative specifications, which are up for public review. Final specifications for desktop and laptop computers, engine block heaters and vehicles have already been established.

The tentative specs cover dishwashers, clothes washers, refrigerators, office printers, air conditioners, hydraulic and motor oil, traffic message boards, traffic safety products, lithographic ink, and services like printing, pest management recycling and turf management.

The specs include energy efficiency, recycled content, toxic chemical reduction and reuse. All printers would be required to carry the Energy Star logo, provide double-sided printing by default and print in black and white ink by default. Traffic message boards would need to be powered primarily by solar panels, and traffic cones would need to contain 50 percent recycled content, with as least 10 percent postconsumer content.

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