Toner and Ink Cartridges

Green purchasing guidance for toner and ink cartridges.

Required specifications

The following have been identified as green specifications relevant to the good/services as minimum mandatory requirements. These would not be part of a scored exhibit. If you are using the Washington state procurement manual templates, the following should be inserted in the relevant document that describes the product or performance requirements.

  • All toner and ink cartridges must have at least one of the following environmental attributes:
    • Remanufactured (which is consistent with the U.S. EPA’s Comprehensive Procurement Guideline (CPG) for Toner Cartridges.
    • Contain at least 30% post-consumer recycled content (PCRC) or 50% total recycled content.
    • High yield (sometimes labeled HY, X, XL, XXL, XP).
    • Remanufactured toner cartridges must be certified by UL ECOLOGO or the ITCC.
  • Avoidance of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).DES Procurement Preference for Products and Product Packaging that Do Not Contain Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) (POL-DES-280-00)
    Statutory Preference for PCB-Free Products & Products-In-Packaging. Pursuant to RCW 39.26.280, Enterprise Services is providing a bid preference in the amount of five percent (5%) per product line item tested to any bidder that provides products or products-in-packaging that do not contain Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)[; Provided, however, that there will be a maximum preference of five percent (5%) across all items submitted for this preference]. Accordingly, all bidders must certify whether they are seeking the Statutory Preference for PCB-Free Products & Products-In-Packaging for [insert applicable goods] in this Competitive Solicitation. Bidders must make the certification on the certification form attached as Exhibit [] – Statutory Preference for PCB-Free Products & Products-In-Packaging. Bidders who seek to obtain the five percent (5%) bid preference for PCB-Free Products & Products-In-Packaging must, in regard to the products and products-in-packaging pertaining to this procurement, certify either that (a) all of their products & products-in packaging; or (b) specific products & products-in-packaging are PCB-free. To be deemed to be 'PCB-free,' the applicable product(s) must be tested, within the previous 365 days, by an independent, third-party laboratory using Environmental Protection Agency Analytical Method 1668c, and have been found NOT to contain PCBs above the practical quantification limit. Such test for the applicable products must be attached to the certification. The cost for conducting any such testing is at the bidder's expense.

Laws, rules, and executive orders

These laws, rules, and executive orders are the basis for these specifications: