IL 18-99-001
In Reply Refer To: 181C
October 8, 1999
CHIEF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT OFFICER INFORMATION LETTER
VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS
1. This letter provides the background for the development of environmental goals for Veterans
Health Administration (VHA) and guidance for VHA health care facilities to participate.
2. The Federal Pollution Prevention Act, signed into law in November 1990, established
Pollution Prevention (P2) as a national objective. This legislation provided for a variety of
environmental protection and compliance measures by identifying prevention and source
reduction as the most desirable means of achieving pollution abatement. Executive Order (EO)
13101, Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal
Acquisition, required each agency to establish environmental goals in waste prevention,
recycling and acquisition of recovered materials to be achieved by January 1, 2000 and for the
years 2005 and 2010. As a major procurement entity within the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA), VHA was required to develop and forward the environmental goals for the target dates to
the Assistant Secretary for Financial Management who also serves as the VA Agency
Environmental Executive (AEE).
3. Baseline data for developing waste prevention and recycling goals were derived from the
Fiscal Year 96 Waste Minimization Survey. For the purpose of clarifying the waste prevention
goals, waste in VHA facilities consists of general, hazardous, radioactive and special waste. The
goals anticipate that the volume and the corresponding costs of waste disposal will decrease
during the target dates due to a variety of factors including: substitution of less hazardous
materials, pollution prevention initiatives, and recycling and recovery of hazardous materials.
The most frequent recycled items include: cardboard, commingled paper, wood, pallets, silver,
scrap steel and oil. The enactment of Public Law 103-329 authorized VA to use and to receive
funds and has increased the incentive to establish recycling programs. Because of increasing
requirements for recycled materials and mandatory procurement, the expenditures for recovered
and environmentally preferred products are also anticipated to increase.
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