(a) Each educational agency is encouraged to purchase recycled paper if the supplier of recycled paper offers the paper at a cost which does not exceed by more than 5 percent the lowest offer of nonrecycled paper of comparable quality.
(b) Whenever an educational agency purchases recycled paper, the educational agency shall purchase the paper with the highest percentage of postconsumer waste, if the price and quality of the recycled paper are otherwise equal.
(c) Whenever it is practical to do so, each educational agency shall revise its procurement specifications to eliminate discrimination against recycled paper and to give preference to the purchase of recycled paper.
(d) Each educational agency shall make all reasonable efforts to eliminate the purchase of paper and paper products which are deemed potential contaminants of the educational agency’s paper recycling program.
(e) When contracting with any educational agency for the sale of a paper product, the contractor shall certify in writing to the contracting officer or the officer’s representative the percentage of secondary and postconsumer waste in the paper product and whether or not such percentages meet the minimum percentages specified in subdivision (d) of Section 32371. Such certification shall be furnished under penalty of perjury.
(Added by Stats. 1978, Ch. 885.)