R2 Resources

This page provides additional resources to assist you in understanding the Responsible Recycling (R2) Practices, implementing an environmental, health and safety management system (EHSMS), creating documentation for an R2 management system and becoming R2 certified.

The R2 Practices

The R2 standard that was originally developed by a multi-stakeholder group specifically for electronics recyclers in the United States. The full title of this document is Responsible Recycling (“R2”) Standard for Electronics Recyclers. It is maintained by the non-profit organization SERI. Go to the SERI website to download a free copy of the standard.

One of the participants in the development of the R2 Standards was the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). Click on the link below to go to U.S. EPA’s website on eCycling –

http://www.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/materials/ecycling/index.htm

Establishing an EHSMS

In order to become certified an electronics recycler must implement an environmental, health and safety management system based on a “Plan-Do-Check-Act” model for continual improvement. The most commonly used EHSMS standards are ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS 18001:2007.

To access a presentation about the role that PDCA plays in management system standards, click here.

ISO 14000 is a series of environmental standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Additional information about ISO can be found at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) web site. The ISO 14001 standard is available for purchase from ISO, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or American Society for Quality (ASQ). Click here to order a copy of ISO 14001:2004 from ASQ.

OHSAS 18001 establishes requirements for establishing an occupational safety and health management system. The elements of OHSAS 18001 are similar to the elements of ISO 14001. To purchase a copy of OHSAS 18001:2007 or OHSAS 18002:2008 (the guidance for implementing OHSAS 18001), click here. (Money-saving tip – if you purchase 18002, you will get the 18001 standard in “boxed text” within the standard, so you actually get both standards for the same price.)

For additional information about occupational health and safety management systems and OHSAS 18001, check out Thea Dunmire’s blog at www.OHSAS18001expert.com.

Laws and Legislation

A key step in establishing an EHSMS is identifying the environmental and OH&S laws and regulations applicable to your operations.

Listed below are some web sites that may assist you in identifying applicable EHS laws and regulations:

United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) web site.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) web site.

Listing of U.S. federal and state environmental laws and regulations located on the web site of Environmental Law Net.

If you want to track the development of state regulations requiring or impacting electronics recycling programs, go to the Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse website at www.ecycleclearinghouse.org.

If you want more information about the restrictions associated with exporting electronics waste, go to the U.S. EPA website at http://www.epa.gov/wastes/hazard/international/imp-exp.htm.

Click here to find out how ENLAR Compliance Services can help you to identify, evaluate and document the environmental, safety and health regulatory requirements applicable to your organization. The focus of this service is to ensure that you have ready access to applicable EHS legal requirements and a means of periodically updating this evaluation.

R2 Certification

To find out more about R2 Certification and to identify the certification bodies who are accredited to offer this certification, go to the ANAB website at http://www.anab.org/.

There are three different ANAB accredited certification programs for electronics recyclers–

Responsible Recycling (R2) – The R2 Practices standard was developed by a multi-stakeholder group that included U.S. EPA and industry representatives. The standard is maintained and promoted by a non-profit organization – SERI.

R2/RIOS – The R2/RIOS standard was developed and is maintained by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), an industry trade association representing the scrap recycling industry. The RIOS standard is a management system standard developed for recyclers that covers quality, environmental, health and safety performance generally. An organization seeking this certification must become a member of ISRI.

E-Stewards – The E-Stewards standard was developed and is maintained by BAN – Basel Action Network. BAN is a nonprofit organization that focuses on preventing the trade of toxic materials that cause environmental impacts in developing countries, particularly the export of hazardous waste.

Emergency Planning

Section 4(h) of the R2 Practices requires that an electronics recycler be prepared to implement “the plan set forth in its EHSMS for responding to and reporting exceptional releases, accidents, spills, fires, explosions, and other out-of-the-ordinary events that pose risks to worker safety, public health or the environment.”

This type of emergency planning is also a key part of an EHSMS, as well as an important component of Business Continuity Planning. Emergency Preparedness is also a requirement in both the ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards (Section 4.4.7).

For more information about preparing for emergencies, click here.

R2 Data Destruction

Section 8 of the R2 Practices requires that the R2:2013 electronics recycler employ generally-accepted data destruction procedures.

Go to website of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) listed below to download – Guidelines for Media Sanitation – Special Publication 800-88. This is the standard specified in the R2 Practices as one option for meeting this requirement.

NIST website – http://www.nist.gov

E-Recycling Surveys, Statistics and Benchmarking

For statistics about electronics waste and recycling, go the U.S. EPA website at –

http://www.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/materials/ecycling/manage.htm