When doing due diligence on R2 certified recycling partners, it is a good practice to ask for a copy of their R2 certificate and verify it with the SERI database of R2 certified facilities. In the most recent incident of a fraudulent certificate, Secure Recycling LLC in Norcross, GA, presented an “R2 certificate” with altered facility name, date, and certificate number as part of their bid for a local government contract. Fortunately, the agency verified the certificate with the SERI database and found that it wasn’t authentic.
There have also been instances of certifying bodies that are not SERI approved and ANAB accredited issuing invalid R2 certificates to recycling facilities. Upon further investigation, those facilities had not implemented some of the most fundamental requirements of the R2 standard – putting their partners and customers at risk. These cases were brought to the attention of SERI through the due diligence process of R2 certified recyclers as well as users of recycling services.
There are also cases of non-R2 certified companies wrongfully using the R2 logo and claiming (or implying) R2 certification. Your help in identifying those companies to SERI is appreciated so that we can contact them, and if necessary, list them on the NOT-Certified list on our website.
Make sure you are checking the validity of R2 certificates of your prospective downstream vendors – and competitors – and report improper claims or fraudulent certificates to SERI. R2 certified companies have invested significant time, effort and cost to achieve certification. Vigilance and due diligence will help to protect that investment and the integrity of the R2 Standard.