Green Purchasing at DNR
Green purchasing is an effort to choose products that are better for human
health and the environment, and in the process encourage growth of companies
that make those products.
Many DNR units have been leading the way by making green purchasing decisions.
To expand the effort, Secretary John R. Griffin has issued a Department-wide
policy. Below are some examples of the types of purchasing changes encouraged by
the policy. Additional green purchasing information is available at
http://www.epa.gov/epp/.
Many products in common use are toxic or otherwise harmful to human health or
the environment, especially when you consider the product's entire life cycle
from design through raw material acquisition, manufacturing, packaging,
transportation, distribution, use, reuse, maintenance and disposal.
Green Purchasing Examples
Products and Services
| Greener | Not So Green |
| Supplies | |
| Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) | Incandescent light bulbs |
| smaller, more efficient T-5 or LED fixture | 4' long fluorescent light fixture (T-8) |
| EPEAT and Energy Star certified computers | Run-of-the-mill computers & peripherals |
| Energy Star appliances | Run-of-the-mill appliances (refrigerators, TVs) |
| Remanufactured toner cartridges | New printer toner cartridges |
| Unbleached paper with high recycled content | Run-of-the-mill office printer/copier paper |
| Non-glossy printing paper w/ recycled content | Glossy printing paper |
| File folders with high recycled content | Manila file folders |
| Reusable or recycled-content boxes & cartons | New cardboard boxes and cartons |
| Less toxic/hazardous products (Green Seal) | Common brand-name cleaning products |
| Microfiber cleaning cloths and mops | Run-of-the-mill cleaning cloths and mops |
| Digital or other non-mercury thermometers | Mercury thermometers |
| Bulk purchase minimizing packaging waste | Small containers with lots of packaging |
| Vehicles | |
| Hybrid and alternative fuel cars and trucks | Gasoline and diesel cars and trucks |
| Re-refined motor oil | New motor oil |
| Antifreeze made with re-refined ethylene glycol | New antifreeze |
| Retread tires | New tires |
| Vegetable-based hydraulic oil | Petroleum-based hydraulic oil |
| Lead-free wheel weights | Lead weights to balance vehicle wheels |
| Construction | |
| Pervious or semi-pervious paving | Impervious concrete paving |
| Reusing recovered paving aggregates | New paving aggregates from a quarry |
| Recycled content and low-VOC carpeting | Run-of-the-mill floor carpeting |
| Lumber studs/natural materials | Aluminum studs/manufactured materials |
| Certified sustainable lumber | Run-of-the-mill lumber |
| Land Management | |
| Recycled mulch | Mulch made from new materials |
| Integrated pest management products | Toxic or hazardous pesticides |
| Use of goats for vegetation control on slopes | Mechanical mowing on steep slopes |
| Less toxic water treatment chemicals | Common toxic water treatment chemicals |
| Electric or propane powered lawn mowers | Gasoline-powered lawn mowers |
| Electric or propane leaf blowers & weedeaters | Gasoline-powered leaf blowers & weedeaters |
| 4-cycle engines | Small equipment with 2-cycle engines |
Sustainability Tip
Install a rain garden or rain barrel to catch rainwater. Stormwater rushing off of roofs and lawns carries pollution directly into streams and the Bay. Rain gardens and rain barrels slow the water down and keep pollution out of our waters. Click here for other helpful information.Join the Sustainability Network
The Sustainability Network is a place where interested citizens, businesses and organizations can share ideas on projects and make connections between others who share their interest.