In 2006, a growing number of companies began to change wasteful ways and adopt more sustainable practices. And with good reason. In addition to the many benefits to the environment, going green is a wise financial choice.

Buying recycled products saves money by eliminating the need for expensive waste management, saving landfill space, and saving natural resources. The usage of recycled goods promotes economic development and creates jobs. But buying recycled can have more direct effects on your city’s budget too.

The federal buy-recycled program, Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines program (CPG), designates recycled-content products and recommends minimum recycled content percentages. Similar buy-recycled programs and incentives exist in many states to facilitate the purchase of products that are beneficial to the environment.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) program encourages purchasers to consider all of the environmental impacts of a product throughout its lifecycle before making a purchasing decision. Oftentimes, recycled products are comparable in price to virgin products and have lower operating and maintenance costs so that long-term costs are lower.

In view of the environmental and financial benefit of buying recycled goods, many government agencies have programs that advocate the purchase of products with the highest percentage of post-consumer recycled content. Some states maintain lists of products that are environmentally friendly and/or post-consumer. Tax benefits may be available in some states for the purchase of green products.