Definition. Products, such as greases or oils, that are designed to reduce friction when applied to a toothed machine part (such as a wheel or cylinder) that meshes with another toothed part to transmit motion or to change speed or direction.

Minimum biobased content. The preferred procurement product must have a minimum biobased content of at least 58 percent, which shall be based on the amount of qualifying biobased carbon in the product as a percent of the weight (mass) of the total organic carbon in the finished product.

Preference compliance date. No later than October 27, 2010, procuring agencies, in accordance with this part, will give a procurement preference for qualifying biobased gear lubricants. By that date, Federal agencies that have the responsibility for drafting or reviewing specifications for items to be procured shall ensure that the relevant specifications require the use of gear lubricants.

Determining overlap with an EPA-designated recovered content product. Qualifying biobased products that fall under this item may, in some cases, overlap with the following EPA-designated recovered content product: Lubricating oils containing re-refined oil. USDA is requesting that manufacturers of these qualifying biobased products provide information for the BioPreferred Web site of qualifying biobased products about the intended uses of the product, information on whether or not the product contains any recovered material, in addition to biobased ingredients, and performance standards against which the product has been tested. This information will assist Federal agencies in determining whether or not a qualifying biobased product overlaps with EPA-designated re-refined lubricating oils and which product should be afforded the preference in purchasing.

Biobased gear lubricant products within this designated item can compete with similar gear lubricant products with recycled content. Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, section 6002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated re-refined lubricating oils containing recovered materials as items for which Federal agencies must give preference in their purchasing programs. The designation can be found in the Comprehensive Procurement Guideline, 40 CFR 247.11.