What are the Standards of Electronics Recycling in Canada?

In Canada, there are a variety of standards set for the recycling of electronics and other hazardous material. This effort helps minimize the amount of electronic waste that ends up in landfills. Instead, Canada has outlined a series of standards to promote and encourage electronic recycling and refurbishment. Here is a breakdown of some of these recycling standards:

ISO 14001: Environmental Management

The ISO 1400 series of standards revolves around environmental management across the world. Regardless of the sector, achieving this certification means that an organization has set up an effective way of measuring its environmental impact and has committed to following the environmental framework. This voluntary program ensures that included organizations hold themselves to a higher environmental standard, ensuring they meet legal and moral obligations upheld by this management system.

R2: Responsible Recycling for Electronics Repair and Recycling

The R2 is the electronics industry’s leading certification that ensures the safe and responsible disposal of electronic devices. Achieving an R2 certification requires an organization to be certified by a third-party, who will analyze its recycling process and environmental impact before certifying the organization. This analysis covers the policies used to recycle and refurbish electronics as well as how the organization disposes of end-of-life products. R2-certified organizations must provide secure, comprehensive data wiping and data destruction services.

RQO: Electronics Recycling Standard (ERS)

Renowned as the standard for recycling operations across Canada, the ERS is responsible for the management of all regulations surrounding end-of-life electronics, including the disposal of such products. Achieving this standard means that a company has met the minimum requirements required for recycling programs in Canada, ensuring electronic waste is recycled and disposed of properly.

RQO: Electronics Reuse and Refurbishment Program (ERRP)

Beyond simply recycling products, the ERRP program encourages recycling plants to reuse and refurbish as many electronics as possible. For devices that are in working condition, organizations in this program will refurbish them for donation or resale. In this way, useful electronics will not end up in a recycling plant or landfill, and companies can even earn money back on the sale of refurbished devices.

eCycle is certified in all of the above standards for the responsible recycling and refurbishment of electronics. We offer a wide variety of recycling and data destruction services to ensure consumer devices and business electronics are properly wiped of all data before being recycled or refurbished. These services include:

• Data wiping
• Data destruction
• Refurbishment and resale
• Proper disposal of hazardous chemicals
• Harvest of valuable materials
• Transport to recycling plants

For more information about electronic recycling and asset decommissioning services, call eCycle at 888-945-2611 or visit our website here.