Washington, DC Environmental Rules: Sustainable Procurement (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- D.C. Code § 8-1031.04a(d)
- Who must comply
- All District facilities and agencies
- Standard
- Maximize Environmentally Preferable Products/Services
- Term defined at
- D.C. Code § 2-351.04(30)
- Oversight agency
- Department of Public Works (DPW)
- Added by
- D.C. Law 23-211 § 2(e), 2021
Summary
District facilities and agencies must maximize purchases of Environmentally Preferable Products or Services under D.C. Code § 8-1031.04a(d). The mandate sits inside the District's waste diversion chapter and applies to every agency, not just a pilot office.
(d) District agencies shall maximize the purchase of Environmentally Preferable Products or Services, as that term is defined in § 2-351.04(30).
Full Breakdown
C. 04a covers requirements for District facilities and agencies within the Solid Waste Management chapter of Title 8. C. 04(30), the District's procurement code. 03 and to maximize diversion from landfill or incineration through reduction, reuse, repair, donation, recycling and composting (subsection (a)). Each agency must designate a person responsible for compliance who ensures employees and janitorial staff are trained annually on source-separation requirements and that recycling, composting and trash receptacles are provided (subsection (b)). 13 (subsection (c)). C. Law 23-211 § 2(e) in 2021, layering a procurement standard on top of the existing waste-diversion mandate rather than creating a standalone green-purchasing statute.
Because the obligation runs to District agencies and facilities themselves, it does not reach private contractors except to the extent an agency's own purchasing decisions are covered.
Violations & Fines
The statute does not attach a dollar penalty to noncompliance with subsection (d) itself; enforcement runs through DPW's annual compliance reporting under § 8-1031.13 rather than a fine schedule. Related waste-diversion recordkeeping failures elsewhere in the same chapter (§ 8-1031.05(f)) draw fines up to $25,000 or license suspension, but that penalty applies to collectors, not to the agency purchasing duty in § 8-1031.04a(d).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this rule apply to private DC businesses?
What counts as an Environmentally Preferable Product or Service?
Is there a fine for an agency that ignores this requirement?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Washington
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