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Find an R2 recycler
Choosing an R2 certified recycler takes the guess work out of hiring a reputable electronics recycler that adheres to the highest industry standards.
To find a certified R2 electronics recycler, click here.
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Become R2 certified
R2 is the leading standard for the electronics recycling industry, setting a high bar for practices that protect the environment, human health, safety and the security of the recycling process. Show your customers that you are an industry leader.
To become an R2 certified recycler, please contact one of these accredited certifying bodies.
AQA International 
Orion Registrar, Inc. 
Perry Johnson Registrars, Inc. 
QMI-SAI Global 
SGS
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Welcome to the R2 Update! This newsletter contains relevant industry information and news pertaining to R2 Solutions, and more importantly the R2 Standard, the leading certification program for the electronics recycling industry.
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R2: increasingly an international standard
When the R2 Standard was first developed in late 2008, some questioned whether it could be utilized outside the United States. To most people, the answer was obvious - it could and would be used throughout the world.
Indeed, in the three years since, a number of electronics recycling facilities outside the United States have been certified. In Canada, there is eCycle Solutions, GEEP, Genesis Recycling, and Sims Recycling Solutions. In Mexico, Technology Conservation Group (TCG) has two certified facilities.
In the United Kingdom, TCG has another certified facility and Sims Group UK has four certified facilities. Meanwhile, TES-AMM has facilities certified in China, India, Malaysia, and Singapore. And a number of additional facilities are in the process of getting certified around the globe.
"R2 Solutions is eager to promote responsible recycling in all corners of the world," states John Lingelbach, Executive Director of R2 Solutions. "The more facilities that become certified, the fewer opportunities there will be for e-scrap to end up in the informal markets of the developing world where it can cause far and away the worst damage to the environment and public and worker health."
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R2 Solutions will be speaking at conferences in April
R2 Solutions plans to participate in two upcoming conferences in April.
On Monday, April 16th, John Lingelbach and Corey Dehmey will be participating in the Electronics Certification Program Educational Course at the ISRI conference in Las Vegas. This course will focus on the value to be derived by a recycler from getting certified. For more information on the course and the conference, go to www.isriconvention.org.
R2 Solutions also will be participating in the 2nd Annual e-Waste Management Summit put on by IQPC. The summit also will take place in Las Vegas, from April 30th to May 2nd. "The 2nd Annual e-Waste Management Summit has been designed to help your company properly dispose of its electronic waste to meet local and federal regulations." For more information on the conference, go to www.ewastemgmtsummit.com.
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Certified company spotlight: R2 is Clover's tool for purposeful environmental stewardship
From time to time, the R2 Update will be featuring an R2 Certified company. This article was provided by Sara Leeman, Director of Corporate Sustainability for Clover Technologies Group. Sara can be reached at (815) 343-0804 or by email at sleeman@clovertech.com.
Environmental stewardship is inherent to Clover Technologies Group's remanufacturing operations. Clover collects used ink and toner cartridges for reuse purposes, remanufacturing them into new cartridges marketed under a variety of private label brands through industry-leading resellers and wholesalers. It is only if collected cartridges cannot be reused that they are recycled though Clover's proprietary closed-loop process that includes a one-of-a-kind end of life grinding operation.
One of Clover's competitive advantages is its positive environmental impact that results from following the hierarchy prescribed by the R2 Standard. This advantage of reusing over recycling has been a major contributing factor in making Clover the world's largest collector of used ink and toner cartridges. By collecting over 67 million cartridges during 2011 in North America alone, Clover prevented nearly 21,000 tons of material from reaching landfills. And by reusing instead of recycling, the company also prevented an amount of CO2 equivalent to what would be generated by consuming nearly 827,000 gallons of gasoline!
Because Clover's business thrives on its customers' decisions to be responsible with their used cartridges, Clover must provide every assurance that it too will be responsible with those returns. Responsible management pursuant to the R2 Standard, as well as certified ISO 14001 programs and EcoLogo standards, provides that assurance. Even though ink cartridges are not specifically mentioned in the R2 Standard and toner cartridges, although included, are not a key focus, R2 Certification ensures for Clover's customers the company's adherence to responsible management of these materials. R2 Certification verifies that Clover operates under an environmental, health, and safety program focused on ensuring responsible handling of all the materials Clover collects from the moment of possession until final disposition.
Clover has recently expanded its environmental solutions to include the collection of cell phones and other consumer electronics. The R2 Standard was the ideal template to unify Clover's diversifying services into one sustainable solution for customers. Clover's electronics solution was pioneered around the R2 responsible management hierarchy already applied to collected ink and toner cartridges: Clover collects electronics for reuse, it recycles what it cannot reuse through use of downstream vendors qualified to manage the material. And electronics collections, like all collections for which Clover offers a solution, are handled pursuant to the company's Zero Waste to Landfill policy.
The remaining responsible handling consideration unique to consumer electronics relates to the personal data stored on the collected electronics. That area of the R2 Standard not applicable to Clover's cartridge operations was the missing piece to a comprehensive responsible solution for these new collections. Although the complexity of responsible collection management will vary based on the materials and capabilities of the item collected, R2 Certification of Clover's management strategy provides third-party assurance that the company's environmental solution is comprehensive and tailored to responsible management of the diverse product range managed.
Environmental stewardship is inherent to Clover's core cartridge operations. When Clover grew its solutions to encompass consumer electronics, it made the decision to expand that stewardship. Adherence and certification to the R2 Standard has assisted Clover to put into practice its fundamental environmental stewardship principles.
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Conformity review: data destruction of media
Conformity review is a monthly column highlighting important operational information concerning the R2 Standard
R2 Provision 8 applies to more than just hard drives. It includes all types of storage media. Floppy disks, data tapes, video tapes, flash drives, solid state storage, and CDs are just a few examples. Data destruction for these various types of media can be accomplished by a few different methods. Some common techniques are shredding, smelting, and degaussing. Each is effective if applied correctly. However, most methods cannot be applied to all media types.
It is important to understand each destruction method. Although it would be effective to shred most media, particular attention must be paid to the size of the post-shredding fragments. Shredding a CD in a car shredder does not yield the same results as using an optical disk shredder. The car shredder would yield large fragments which may allow for the retrieval of data. Provision 8 references NIST Guidelines for Media Sanitation: Special Publication 800-88. The NIST guidelines recommend a shredded particle size for optical disks of .25mm.
The R2 Standard provides flexibility in meeting its data destruction requirements. It is the recycler's responsibility to prove that their method is in-line with a current generally-accepted standard or certification for data destruction. NIST 800-88 is one such standard. NAID and ADISA are others.
How does one know what destruction methods meet "generally-accepted standards"? Per Provision 8(d), one method is to have the media evaluated after destruction to verify data cannot be recovered from the processed material. Alternatively, there are products that have been evaluated by the National Security Agency. The NSA/CSS evaluated products list (EPL) is referenced by NIST 800-88 and a good source for equipment that is proven effective in physical destruction of media. The NSA/CSS EPL can be found at www.nsa.gov/ia/mitigation_guidance/media_destruction_guidance/index.shtml. Other evaluated product lists are available. Certified products in the UK can be found at www.cesg.gov.uk/Finda/Pages/CCITSECSearch.aspx. No one listed product can be applied to all media. Each scenario requires proper application of the appropriate equipment and technique.
Although this article focuses on the size of particles and the technology applied to different media types, the data destruction provision covers more than just the technology used to destroy data. Provision 8 addresses a combination of security and accountability around the collection, transport, storage, processing and verification of data destruction.
**R2 support of downstream vendor due diligence**
R2 Solutions has heard many comments about the downstream due diligence requirements of Provision 5. Specifically, there are many concerns about the level of due diligence required for vendors already certified to R2.
We are interested in hearing your ideas on how R2 Solutions can assist certified recyclers in lessening the burden of due diligence while still maintaining the integrity and transparency of the process. Please provide any suggestions you have using the contact form on the R2 Solutions website at www.r2solutions.org/forms/contact-r2-solutions/
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We want to hear from you! Please send along any R2 related news or information that you think would be important to share with the electronics recycling community.
Thank you!
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