The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing to add 30 new product categories to the USDA BioPreferred® Program and amend these four existing categories – general purpose de-icers, firearm lubricants, laundry products and water-clarifying agents.
The proposed product categories are:
| Proposed Product Categories | * Minimum Biobased Content Requirement as measured by ASTM D6866 testing |
| Adhesives | 24% |
| Animal habitat care products (ex. products that control, mask, or suppress pet odors) | 22% |
| Cleaning tools (ex. brushes, scrapers, abrasive pads and gloves) | 22% |
| Concrete curing agents | 59% |
| Concrete repair materials—concrete leveling | 23% |
| Concrete repair materials—concrete patching | 69% |
| Durable cutlery | 28% |
| Durable tableware | 28% |
| Epoxy systems | 23% |
| Exterior paints and coatings | 83% |
| Facial care products | 88% |
| Feminine care products | 65% |
| Fire logs and fire starters | 92% |
| Folders and filing products | 66% |
| Foliar sprays | 50% |
| Gardening supplies and accessories | 43% |
| Heating fuels and wick lamps | 75% |
| Kitchenware and accessories | 22% |
| Other Lubricants (products that do not fit into any of the BioPreferred Program’s specific lubricant categories) | 39% |
| Phase change materials (products that are capable of absorbing and releasing large amounts of thermal energy by freezing and thawing at certain temperatures) | 71% |
| Playground and athletic surface materials | 22% |
| Powder coatings | 34% |
| Product packaging items | 25% |
| Rugs and floor mats | 23% |
| Shopping and trash bags | 22% |
| Soil amendments | 72% |
| Surface guards, molding, and trim products | 26% |
| Toys and sporting gear | 32% |
| Traffic and zone marking paints | 30% |
| Transmission fluids | 60% |
| Wall coverings | 62% |
To more closely align these products with data gathered since these 4 categories were originally designated, the USDA proposes to revise:
The USDA BioPreferred Program will accept public comments on these proposed amendments and new product categories until November 13, 2018.
Reference:
Office of Procurement and Property Management, USDA. Proposed Rule Designation of Product Categories for Federal Procurement 83 FR 46780 (September 2018)
Beta Analytic is not affiliated with ASTM or the USDA BioPreferred Program. The ISO 17025-accredited lab welcomes inquiries on ASTM D6866 biobased content testing. The lab reports results in 7 business days or less. A faster service is also available. For price inquiries, please contact the lab.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 23rd, 2018 and is filed under Biobased Products, USDA Biopreferred Program .