The independent certification firm SCS Global Services, Emeryville, California, has certified General Refining Corp.’s (GRC’s) fine green gold, platinum and silver products as being made from 100-percent-postconsumer-recycled material.
GRC, headquartered in Hempstead, New York, also operates its main recovery and refining facility in Hempstead.
SCS provides third-party environmental, sustainability and food quality certification, auditing, testing and standards development.
SCS says the certification provides independent reassurance to GRC’s customers that none of the company’s products were sourced from mining operations or conflict zones. SCS says it completed the audit for GRC’s gold products in November 2014, while the audits for the company’s platinum and silver products were completed in March 2015.
The audits involved a detailed examination of GRC’s policies and processes for sourcing, tracking and refining metals, SCS says. The company also says it evaluated GRC’s supply chain to qualify suppliers as providers of postconsumer recycled material as well as confirming their “anti-money laundering” and “know your customer” procedures.
“Although third-party certification isn’t required in our industry, we wanted to take this voluntary measure to demonstrate our commitment to using postconsumer recycled sources,” says Peter Spera, GRC president. “We are pleased to be able to share this good news with our customers and to do our part to reduce reliance on mining operations and their associated environmental and social impacts.”
“We congratulate GRC on its certification accomplishment,” says Alicia Godlove, manager of material services in SCS's Environmental Certification Services unit. “Its reliance on recycled metals is environmentally beneficial, helping to reduce pressure to mine raw materials from the earth.”
GRC launched its precious metals refining business in the mid-1970s. Its postconsumer scrap includes used jewelry and flatware as well as material from pawn shops and medical and dental recyclers.