Compliance

First in Solar Panel Recycling to Achieve R2v3 and RIOS in North America 

We are committed to collaboration and partnership with industry, community, and policy leaders to ensure an ever more sustainable and systemically closed-loop solar recycling supply chain.

While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, individual states (California, Texas, Nevada, Washington among them), and the solar industry in the U.S. are currently working to develop and align solar panel recycling standards more in line with Universal Waste standards, we have pushed ourselves above and beyond.

We are the first solar panel recycling company in North America to earn the R2v3 Appendices A, E, and G, and RIOS 2016 Certifications (Sustainable Electronics Recycling International).

This certification means our recycling process, operating procedures, and downstream vendors are auditable and meet the highest level of environmental, health, and safety protocols in the industry today, a new benchmark of quality and reliability.  

"Solar panel recycling is a win-win-win – good for consumers, the economy, and our planet. We congratulate Comstock Metals on this achievement – one of our Preferred Recycling Partners – and we look forward to continuing this partnership for the benefit of the entire solar energy industry." 

- Evelyn Butler, Vice President of Technical Services at the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

R2v3 Appendices A, E, and G and RIOS 2016 were specifically developed for recycling of solar waste to ensure the most rigorous environmental, safety, and data security standards and best practices are met. 

• Appendix A: Data Sanitization & Device Testing Plan. Defines requirements for secure data destruction and testing of functional devices, ensuring protection of data and confirmation of equipment operability before reuse or recycling.
• Appendix E: Focus Materials Plan: Outlines mandatory procedures for identifying, managing, and properly processing materials of concern—like lead, cadmium, and mercury—to minimize health and environmental risks.
• Appendix G: Downstream Vendor Management and Material Recovery of PV Modules. Requires documented processes to ensure photovoltaic modules are processed only by qualified downstream vendors with full material recovery traceability.

RIOS: 2016 (Recycling Industry Operating Standard) = Commercialization and Dismantling of Solar Panels, Finish goods and Inventory Storage

 (ISO coming soon.)