Noranda Recycling Inc. Announced that its environmental management system at its Noranda Sampling facility in East Providence, RI, has been registered as compliant with the International Standard ISO 14001.
"We are extremely pleased to have achieved compliance with ISO 14001 as we are aiming to have all five of our recycling facilities certified early in 2004", said Steve Skurnac, president of Noranda Recycling Inc. "This is truly a testament to the hard work of all employees to ensure that we have the right environmental policies and procedures in place and that we are able to meet the ever-growing demand for the highest level of quality."
To receive certification of ISO environmental standards requires independent confirmation that a company has met the six key elements of an internationally accepted environmental management system. Those elements are:
- An environmental policy, in which the organization states it intentions and commitment to environmental performance;
- Planning, in which the organization analyses the environmental impact of its operations;
- Implementation and operation: the development and putting into practice of processes that will bring about environmental goals and objectives;
- Checking and corrective action: monitoring and measurement of environmental indicators to ensure that goals and objectives are being met;
- Management review: review of the EMS by the organization's top management to ensure its continuing suitability, adequacy and effectiveness; and
- Continual improvement.
Compliance with ISO standards is certified by independent third-party auditors. Bureau Veritas Quality International (BVQI) is the independent accreditation body that certified Noranda Recycling's compliance with the ISO 14001 standard for environmental management.
Noranda's Rhode Island facility is a precious metals sampling operation that processes 5,000-7,000 metric tons per year of regular grade and high grade electronic scrap.
Material from the Rhode Island facility is shipped to Noranda's Horne smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, for recovery of the copper and precious metal values.