Plumbing

Green purchasing guidance for plumbing, including:

Sink faucets
Showerheads
Toilets
Urinals
Fixtures
Fittings and pipes

Required specifications

Purchasers must include these specifications, unless not possible:

Bathroom sink faucets and showerheads must be WaterSense-certified.
Toilets and urinals must be EITHER WaterSense-certified or waterless.
Includes EPA WaterSense products including toilets, urinals (including waterless options), faucets, showerheads, and landscape irrigation products.
Includes alternatives to PVC piping, including but not limited to low emitting PVC and CPVC compounds.
Water bottle refill stations must be UL listed, certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 61-G & 372 and conform with the lead content requirements for “Lead Free” plumbing by the State of California.
Water coolers, bottled water dispensers, and pool pumps must be ENERGY STAR-certified.
Water filters (e.g., carbon filtration and reverse osmosis systems) must meet applicable NSF standards.
Energy-efficient (ENERGY STAR® or Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)-designated).
Water-efficient.
Biobased.
Environmentally preferable (e.g., EPEAT®-registered, or non-toxic or less toxic alternatives).
Non-ozone depleting.
Made with recovered materials.
Accordingly, all plumbing fixtures, fittings and pipes must contain <=0.25% lead. Products certified to NSF/ANSI 372: Drinking Water System Components – Lead Content meet this legal requirement. Vendors must demonstrate that it is certified to NSF 372 or provide alternate documentation that the product meets this lead standard.
All portable toilets and wash stations must be equipped with janitorial paper products (e.g., toilet tissue and paper towels) that contain that meet or exceed the US EPA’s Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPGs) for Janitorial Paper Products. At a minimum, toilet tissue products must contain at least 20% post-consumer recycled content (PCRC) and paper towels must contain at least 40% PCRC. Vendors offering portable toilets and/or wash stations that come equipped with janitorial paper products with a higher percentage of recycled content than the applicable US EPA CPG for this category are eligible for a Bid Preference of at least 10%.
All hand sanitizers must contain at least 60% ethyl alcohol, which is consistent with the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendation for use against the COVID-19 virus.
Washington State regulations for portable restrooms.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Water Act, enacted in 1972, establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and establishing water quality standards. Vendors that are awarded service agreements to rent or lease portable restrooms may need to demonstrate that they have a permit to properly discharge the contents of their equipment.
Restroom and shower dividers/partitions must be either (1) made of steel or (2) if plastic, have at least 20% post-consumer recycled content (PCRC), which meets U.S. EPA’s CPG for Plastic Restroom and Shower Partitions/Dividers. Products with a higher percentage of PCRC than the applicable U.S. EPA CPG are eligible for a price preference of at least 10%.

Preferred specifications

Purchasers should include these specifications, unless not possible:

Bidders are strongly encouraged to offer and clearly label plumbing equipment that is PVC-free and certified water-efficient by the U.S. EPA’s WaterSense Program, whenever the contract includes the types of products that are covered under that certification. If plumbing products meeting the state’s needs are not available with the WaterSense label, they are encouraged to offer products that meet the WaterSense standard (e.g., gallons per minute) but are not certified.
Additional desirable environmental and health attributes of include: a third-party transparency label disclosing ingredients such as a Health Product Declaration (HPD) or Declare Label.
Bidders are strongly encouraged to offer and clearly label plumbing equipment that is PVC-free and certified water-efficient by the U.S. EPA’s WaterSense Program, whenever the contract includes the types of products that are covered under that certification. If plumbing products meeting the state’s needs are not available with the WaterSense label, they are encouraged to offer products that meet the WaterSense standard (e.g., gallons per minute) but are not certified.
A third-party transparency label disclosing ingredients such as a Health Product Declaration (HPD) or Declare Label.
It is desirable for vendors of portable toilets to include deodorizers that are certified by Safer Choice, Green Seal or UL ECOLOGO, or to avoid the use of deodorizers altogether.
WA DES could require or give preference to portable hand washing stations to include hand soaps that have earned one of the following third-party certifications: Green Seal, Safer Choice or UL ECOLOGO.
In addition, vendors of portable toilets and hand washing stations can be required or given preference if they commit to cleaning their equipment using low-toxicity cleaning products that are certified by Green Seal, Safer Choice or UL ECOLOGO.

Additional desirable environmental and health certifications of hand sanitizers include:

UL ECOLOGO, Green Seal, USDA Biobased, or Cradle to Cradle (Silver or higher).
No fragrances or dyes.
Vendors that use electric or other low-emissions vehicles to deliver their portable restroom and/or hand washing systems can be offered best value preference points in the bid evaluation process.

Accordingly, additional desirable environmental and health attributes of restroom and shower dividers and partitions include the following third-party certifications:

Cradle to Cradle Certified or Material Health Certificate: v3.1 at the Silver level or higher OR v4.0 at the Silver level or higher;
A third-party transparency label disclosing ingredients such as a Declare Label or a Health Product Declaration (HPD)
SCS Indoor Advantage Gold; or
UL GREENGUARD Gold (low emitting only).

Things to avoid

Purchasers should avoid these specifications whenever possible:

Accordingly, portable toilets may not include deodorizers that contain para-dichlorobenzene, a PBT chemical.
Deodorizers may not include materials that are not biodegradable such as plastic or rubber since these could clog pumping equipment and sewage treatment systems.
All portable hand washing stations and toilets that include hand soap may not offer hand soaps with antibacterial ingredients such as Triclosan.