11.301 Policy
Source: FAR 11.301 on acquisition.gov
Agencies must avoid unnecessary requirements for virgin materials and limit information requests about material content to what is necessary and consistent with industry practices.
Overview
FAR 11.301 establishes the policy for agencies regarding the use of virgin, used, reconditioned, remanufactured, surplus, recycled, and biobased materials in government contracts. The regulation aims to promote the use of recovered and biobased materials, restricts unnecessary requirements for virgin materials, and sets clear guidelines for when and how information about material content must be obtained from offerors. It distinguishes between commercial and non-commercial products and emphasizes alignment with industry practices and minimizing unnecessary data requests.
Key Rules
- Restriction on Virgin Materials
- Agencies must not require virgin materials unless mandated by law, regulation, or essential for safety/performance.
- Disclosure of Used or Surplus Materials (Non-Commercial Products)
- Offerors must identify any used, reconditioned, remanufactured, or surplus supplies proposed; these may only be used if authorized by the contracting officer.
- Commercial Products – Industry Practices
- Contracting officers must consider industry norms and may request information on used or surplus materials, but only if included in the solicitation and consistent with commercial standards.
- Requests for Recycled/Biobased Content Information
- Additional information on recycled or biobased content may be required if needed to determine compliance, but requests must be included in the solicitation and limited to what is typical in commercial practice.
- Limits on Biobased Product Data Requests
- Agencies cannot require more data for biobased products than is standard, except for confirmation of biobased content.
Responsibilities
- Contracting Officers: Ensure solicitations comply with these policies, authorize use of non-virgin materials when appropriate, and limit data requests to what is necessary and customary.
- Contractors: Disclose use of used, reconditioned, remanufactured, or surplus materials as required, and provide information on recycled/biobased content when requested.
- Agencies: Oversee compliance and avoid imposing unnecessary requirements for virgin materials or excessive data collection.
Practical Implications
- This policy encourages sustainable procurement and reduces unnecessary reliance on virgin materials.
- Contractors must be transparent about material sources and content, but are protected from excessive or non-standard data requests.
- Common pitfalls include failing to disclose non-virgin materials or requesting more information than industry norms allow.
(a) Agencies must not require virgin material or supplies composed of or manufactured using virgin material unless compelled by law or regulation or unless virgin material is vital for safety or meeting performance requirements of the contract.
(b)
(1) When acquiring products other than commercial products as defined in 2.101, agencies must require offerors to identify used, reconditioned, or remanufactured supplies; or unused former Government surplus property proposed for use under the contract. These supplies or property may not be used in contract performance unless authorized by the contracting officer.
(2) When acquiring commercial products, the contracting officer must consider the customary practices in the industry for the product being acquired. The contracting officer may require offerors to provide information on used, reconditioned, or remanufactured supplies, or unused former Government surplus property proposed for use under the contract. The request for the information must be included in the solicitation, and to the maximum extent practicable must be limited to information or standards consistent with normal commercial practices.
(c)
(1) When the contracting officer needs additional information to determine whether supplies meet minimum recovered material or biobased standards stated in the solicitation, the contracting officer may require offerors to submit additional information on the recycled or biobased content or related standards. The request for the information must be included in the solicitation. When acquiring commercial products, limit the information to the maximum extent practicable to that available under normal commercial practices.
(2) For biobased products, agencies may not require, as a condition of purchase of such products, the vendor or manufacturer to provide more data than would typically be provided by other business entities offering products for sale to the agency, other than data confirming the biobased content of a product (see 7 CFR 3201.8).