.03 Recycled Paper Purchases.

A. Of the total volume of paper that the Secretary of General Services buys, at least 90 percent shall be recycled paper.

B. In purchasing any paper or paper products as supplies for any using agency pursuant to State Finance and Procurement Article, Title 4, Subtitle 3, Annotated Code of Maryland, the Secretary of General Services, to the fullest extent practicably possible, shall purchase or approve for purchase only such supplies as are manufactured or produced from recycled paper.

C. If recycled paper that meets the definition set forth in Regulation .01B(7) of this chapter is unavailable, then for purposes of complying with the requirements of this chapter, the Department of General Services and other State agencies may purchase recycled paper and paper products that have the highest percentage of post-consumer material that, at minimum, meets EPA guidelines, provided that reasonable levels of competition, cost, availability, and technical performance are maintained.