(a) The department of general services shall:

(1) Recycle surplus state property to the maximum extent practicable, under the program authorized by this part and under § 12-2-404, that cannot be sold for reuse, notwithstanding the existence of any other law, rules or regulations to the contrary;

(2) Revise product specifications to require, to the extent economically feasible, the procurement of recycled products or products with recycled content;

(3) Encourage all departments of state government to purchase products with recycled content or recyclable products from state contracts;

(4) Encourage county governments to purchase materials with recycled content from state contracts in transactions under title 12, chapter 3, part 10; and

(5) Effect procurement contracts that are subject to competitive bidding using specifications revised according to subdivision (a)(2).

(b) The department of environment and conservation shall:

(1) Expand to the maximum extent practicable the department's state recycling program for paper, aluminum cans and bottles;

(2) Expand the department's state recycling program to the maximum extent practicable to include other kinds of recyclable materials, including, but not limited to, newsprint, plastic bottles, mixed paper and steel cans;

(3) Demonstrate new uses of recovered materials; and

(4) Encourage all state facilities to offer recycling opportunities where practicable, including, but not limited to, increasing the availability of recycling receptacles and conducting employee education.