Certificate for materials

CERUB certificate

CERUB certification for sustainably recycled tyre material

CERUB certification guarantees that the materials derived from recycled tyres are produced and delivered responsibly. The CERUB certification assures the buyers and users that the tyre material is

a) processed under controlled conditions
b) documented for safe and secure use
c) safe for health and environment in the designated use

CERUB certification can be granted to recyclers that process and distribute end-of-life tyres derived materials.

CERUB certification is verified by accredited third party verification and is based on a self-declared certification system. Certification is valid for three years.

Read more about joining CERUB here: Get certified

What is sustainably recycled tyre material?

Materials that can hold a CERUB certification for sustainably recycled tyre material are tyre shreds, rubber granulates, and powder. These materials are made from 100 % pure tyre raw material: no other additives are used, and the material is not chemically treated. With this, we can make sure the quality of the produced material is controlled and known.

Only tyre materials of which the production chain fulfils the CERUB certification criteria can hold a certificate. The production chain includes the sourcing, storing, and sorting of end-of-life tyres and producing and distributing the produced tyre materials.

End-use specific certification

Only tyre material of which end-use application is known can hold a certification. With this, we make sure the material meets the quality requirements for safe use in a particular application. That means that the certificate is always specific for a defined use.

Certified tyre material can be used in the end-use application as such, or can be supplied for further processing as an ingredient in a material mixture.

 

Certified production chain

The CERUB certification system is built for tyre recycling companies and other companies producing and delivering materials derived from end-of-life tyres. By using the CERUB label, the organisation is committed to implementing a responsible and transparent production chain. The chain includes several stages, from sourcing old tyres to delivery of the produced materials.

Sourcing

The end-of-life tyres are collected from collection points in sourcing, such as tyre workshops, tyre shops, motor vehicle repair shops, and motor vehicle dismantlers. The collection points collect disused tyres from motorists. In the sourcing phase, quality control is conducted to detect foreign materials and other deviations in the collected batch.

Storing and sorting

The collected end-of-life tyres are transported from the collection point for storing. The tyres are sorted by type before being processed into shreds, granulates or powder. In storing and sorting, quality control is conducted to detect foreign materials and other deviations in the stock.

Processing

The sorted end-of-life tyres are delivered to the treatment facility for processing. The processing includes size reduction, a treatment designed to reduce a tyre into smaller pieces or particles. One or several different technologies can be used. In processing, the particle size reduces, but the physical and chemical composition remains equivalent to the virgin tyre. At this stage, quality control is carried out to ensure that the produced material meets the quality criteria set for it, i.e. the quality specifications of the material.

Distribution

After processing, the produced tyre derived material is delivered for end-use with applicable user information. The distribution of material to the market can be handled by a processing organisation, retailer or other operator who sells or otherwise delivers the material for end-use. The use of the material is not covered by the certification system.

Quality assurance and safety management

Every stage of the production chain includes quality control and safety management. Safety management aims to ensure that the organisations’ operations are safe for the workers, the public, and the environment. Through quality control the organisation ensures that the produced tyre-derived material meets the quality requirements. The material must meet the specifications set for the particular end-use purpose.

Principles of Certification

The principles and criteria set in CERUB specify the conditions for granting certification and allowing the use of the CERUB label. The CERUB label guarantees that the end-of-life tyre derived material holding the label is produced and supplied by the following six principles: 

Principle 1

Compliance with law and regulations

Principle 2

Traced material flows

Principle 3

Availability and validity of CERUB information

Principle 4

Enhancement of occupational health and safety

Principle 5

Good environmental performance

Principle 6

Quality assurance and applicable user information

Certification Criteria

1. Compliance with law and regulations

1.1. The organisation and its’ subcontractors within the production chain shall be legally registered companies.

1.2. The organisation shall have a signed agreement with all subcontractors.

1.3. The subcontractors shall provide annual statements of their financial, legal and tax status to the organisation.

1.4. Applicable legislation, including anti-corruption legislation, and other requirements governing the production chain operations and ELT-derived rubber materials shall be identified and documented.

1.5. Legislative and other requirements shall be incorporated into the organisation’s operations.

1.6. Applicable legislation and other requirements as well as the actualisation of the requirements’ incorporation shall be reviewed, at minimum, annually and always after an accident, incident or near miss of an accident, in the case of a customer complaint, and in association with any major changes in the organisation’s operations or in the production chain.

1.7. A whistleblowing procedure for workers to report suspected misconduct, illegal acts or other deficiencies shall be identified and implemented.

1.8. Reported misconducts and deficiencies shall be assessed and necessary remedial and preventive measures are taken by the organisation’s management without undue delay.

1.9. In the case of law-breaking or any form of corruption occurring, a root cause analysis shall be conducted, and adequate disciplinary, predictive, preventive and remedial measures shall be defined and implemented.

2. Traced material flows

2.1. All sites where end-of-life tyres or ELT-derived materials are sourced, stored, processed or distributed shall be documented. The documentation shall include the address of the site and the contact information of a responsible person.

2.2. All end-of-life tyres or ELT-derived materials received at sites, in any phase of the production chain, shall be documented with their weight or volume and source of origin.

2.3. All end-of-life tyres or ELT-derived materials distributed from any sites in the production chain, shall be documented with their weight or volume and the recipient of the material.

2.4. Documents and invoices shall be kept, at minimum, for three years or as regulated in the applicable legislation.

3. Availability and validity of CERUB information

3.1. The organisation’s management’s commitment to CERUB’s principles and objectives shall be publicly available and reviewed at minimum once every three years.

3.2. The documents shall be recorded and stored in such a way up-to-date formation is easy to access for workers and other authorised persons for whom the information is essential for the effective execution of the CERUB criteria.

3.3. Any information on the organisation’s operations and ELT-derived rubber materials shall be available to the authorities upon request without undue delay.

3.4. The organisation shall conduct annual internal reviews (internal audits) to survey the actualisation of the CERUB criteria within the production chain. If the organisation operates in several units or locations, each unit or location shall be reviewed at least once in three years period. Operations run in headquarters shall be surveyed annually.

4. Enhancement of occupational health and safety

4.1. Occupational health and safety risks in the production chain shall be assessed (risk assessment). The assessment shall include risk predictive, preventive and reducing procedures.

4.2. The risk assessment shall be reviewed, at minimum, annually and always after an accident, incident or near miss of an accident and in association with any major changes in the organisation’s operations or in the production chain.

4.3. In the case of an accident, incident or near miss of an accident, a root cause analysis shall be conducted, and adequate remedial and preventive measures shall be defined and implemented. The remedial and preventive measures shall be taken at a level of detail, scale and urgency that is proportionate to the existent risk of a negative impact.

4.4. Workers shall be involved in the risk assessment, root cause analysis and planning of risk management procedures.

4.5. Instructions for safe working practices in day-to-day work shall be included in workers’ job-specific introduction and work instructions.

4.6. If the job requires specific qualifications, permits or competencies from the workers, the validity of these qualifications, permits or competencies shall be ensured.

4.7. Training to ensure workers’ awareness, knowledge and skills for safe working practices shall be planned and held. The frequency and content of training sessions shall be planned to meet workers’ needs and the requirements set by their occupational responsibilities.

4.8. The sufficiency and applicability of the planned training and applied instructions shall be reviewed, at minimum, every two years and always in association with Occupational health and safety risk assessment, root cause analysis and at any major changes in the organisation’s operations or in the production chain.

4.9. A timely mechanism for workers to report possibly occurring occupational health and safety deficiencies shall be identified and implemented.

4.10. Employee incentive procedures shall be planned and implemented to encourage employees to contribute to the maintenance and development of occupational health in the production chain.

4.11. Reported deficiencies shall be evaluated and necessary hazard preventive measures taken by the organisation’s management without undue delay.

5. Good environmental performance

5.1. The environmental risks in the production chain operations shall be assessed (risk assessment). The assessment shall include risk predictive, preventive and reducing procedures.

5.2. The risk assessment shall be reviewed, at minimum, annually and always after an accident, incident or near miss of an accident, in the case of a customer complaint and in association with any major changes in the organisation’s operations or in the production chain.

5.3. In the case of an accident, incident or near miss of an accident, a root cause analysis shall be conducted, and adequate remedial and preventive measures shall be defined and implemented. The remedial and preventive measures shall be taken at a level of detail, scale and urgency that is proportionate to the existent risk of a negative impact

5.4. Workers shall be involved in the risk assessment, root cause analysis and planning of risk management procedures.

5.5. Instructions for taking environmental aspects into account in day-to-day work shall be included in workers’ job-specific introduction and work instructions.

5.6. Training to ensure workers’ awareness, knowledge and skills to enhance environmental performance shall be planned and held. The frequency and content of training sessions shall be planned to meet workers’ needs and the requirements set by their occupational responsibilities.

5.7. The sufficiency and applicability of planned training and applied instructions shall be reviewed, at minimum, every two years and always in association with an environmental risk assessment, root cause analysis and at any major changes in the organisation’s operations or in the production chain.

5.8. A timely mechanism for workers to report possibly occurring environmental deficiencies shall be identified and implemented.

5.9. Reported deficiencies shall be evaluated and necessary hazard preventive measures taken by the organisation’s management without undue delay.

5.10. Employee incentive procedures shall be planned and implemented to encourage employees to contribute to the maintenance and development of environmental performance in the production chain.

6. Quality assurance and applicable user information

6.1. The organisation shall define the material quality specifications that are essential for the safe end-use of the material. The material quality specifications shall be based on, at minimum, the applicable standards, norms, legislative and other regulations concerning the intended end-use of the ELT-derived rubber materials. When distributing materials to several countries, the organisation shall identify the applicable regulation in the respective country.

6.2. The organisation shall define and implement applicable quality control procedures within the production chain to ensure that the material quality specifications of the distributed ELT-derived rubber materials are met.

6.3. The quality control procedures shall include a sampling plan. The objective of it is to verify that the distributed ELT-derived rubber material meets the defined material quality specifications. All sampling and analysis shall be conducted using standardised methods and the results of the analysis shall be reported in consistently specified units.

6.4. The quality control procedures shall be reviewed, at minimum once every two years, and always in association with any remarkable nonconformities or major changes in the raw material used, production processes, or conditions of end-using application. The quality control procedures shall also be reviewed in association with relevant changes in applicable standards, norms, legislative or other regulations, and in association with other circumstances that may affect the potentially occurring environmental and public health impacts of the material.

6.5. If cases of nonconformities occur in the quality control procedures or material quality, a root cause analysis shall be conducted, and adequate remedial, preventive and predictive measures shall be defined and implemented. The remedial, preventive and predictive measures shall be taken at a level of detail, scale and urgency that is proportionate to the existent risk of a negative impact.

6.6. The ELT-derived rubber material shall be delivered with relevant, documented user information, which provides advice on the safe handling, storage, application and disposal of materials (e.g. product safety sheet, user manual with instructions for safe handling, storage, application and disposal of the material, instructions for applicable authority reports, permits and other regulatory obligations related to the end-usage of ELT-derived rubber materials and product data sheet).