Our Standards & Practices
The recycling and data-security standards we work toward at our Sugar Land facility, and the certified partners we route material through.
A note on certifications
EverTrade Electronics Recycling is an independent Texas business. We are not currently certified to R2, e-Stewards, RIOS, NAID, or ISO standards, and we are not audited by any of those bodies. We are not a regulated facility under those frameworks.
What we do: follow the published guidelines from those programs as best practices, document our own processes, and route material that leaves our facility through downstream partners who do hold the relevant certifications. The sections below describe the practices we work toward, not certifications we hold.
RIOS-Aligned
The Recycling Industry Operating Standard (RIOS™) is a management framework covering quality, environmental, and health & safety practices, developed for the recycling industry by ISRI.
EverTrade is not RIOS-certified. We use the framework as an internal guide.
Learn about RIOSHow We Use the RIOS Framework
We use the RIOS framework as an internal reference for organizing how we approach quality, environmental responsibility, and workplace safety. It helps us keep our own processes documented and consistent. We do not hold a RIOS certification and our operations are not audited under the standard.
Internal SOPs, process notes, and ongoing efforts to improve the services we provide.
High landfill diversion as an operating goal, responsible downstream routing, and waste reduction efforts.
PPE for facility work, hazard awareness, and basic safety training for our team.
TCEQ Guidelines
We reference the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) guidance for computer equipment recyclers when planning how we handle, store, and document electronics at our Sugar Land facility.
How We Approach Texas E-Waste Guidelines
We aim to follow the practices Texas lays out for electronics recyclers. EverTrade is not a state-licensed or audited recycler, and TCEQ does not inspect or grade our operations. The items below describe what we work toward at our Sugar Land facility:
Aligned with Texas Recycles Computers
We reference the state's computer recycling program when shaping our intake and handling processes.
Certified Downstream Partners
Material leaving our facility is routed to vendors that hold R2 or e-Stewards certifications.
Landfill-Avoidance Goal
Our operating goal is to keep accepted electronics out of landfills wherever a downstream channel exists.
Internal Weight Tracking
We track inbound and outbound weights internally so we can answer customer questions about diversion.
Fort Bend County Location: Our facility at 10100 Belknap Rd, Sugar Land, TX serves the Greater Houston area with responsible electronics recycling and data destruction.
Data Security
Customer data matters to us. We follow the publicly available NIST 800-88 media sanitization guidelines for the drives we process.
NIST 800-88 Guidelines
NIST 800-88 Revision 1 is the National Institute of Standards and Technology's published guide for media sanitization. It is a free public document, not a certification. We use it as our reference when wiping or destroying drives. Each wipe is logged so customers can see what happened to their media.
We are not certified or audited by NIST, NAID, or any third-party data-destruction body.
- 1Assess: Determining storage media type (SSD/HDD) and sensitivity.
- 2Sanitize: Executing Clear, Purge, or Destroy methods dependent on media requirements.
- 3Verify: Automated verification and certificate generation for audit trails.
Real Environmental Impact
We measure our success not just in certifications, but in pounds diverted from landfills.
Electronics our team has handled since 2024, tracked from our internal records.
Every hard drive that comes through our facility is wiped to NIST 800-88 guidelines or physically destroyed.
We do not export non-functional e-waste to developing nations.
Figures are based on EverTrade's internal tracking and have not been independently audited.
1. Secure Intake
Assets enter our secure chain of custody via tracked fleet vehicles.
2. Audit & Wipe
Every serial number is scanned. Data is destroyed via NIST 800-88.
3. Component Recovery
Functional RAM, CPUs, and Boards are harvested for reuse.
4. Commodity Recycling
Scrap steel and plastic are sent to R2-certified smelters.
Where Does It Go?
We track where the material we accept gets sent, so we can answer questions about your specific load. Our policy is to route end-of-life material through certified downstream partners rather than landfills or overseas e-waste markets.
Our Downstream Partners
We only work with vendors holding one or more of these certifications:
Health & Safety Commitment
Keeping our team and visitors safe is something we take seriously. We reference OSHA guidance and the RIOS framework when setting up how we work at the facility. We are not OSHA-audited or RIOS-certified.
OSHA-Aligned Practices
We reference OSHA guidance for recycling work environments when shaping our internal practices.
PPE on the Floor
Personal protective equipment for our team during facility operations.
Safety Training
Team training on safe handling, hazard awareness, and emergency procedures.
Incident-Free Goal
We aim for zero workplace incidents and review near-misses internally.
Standards We Reference
EverTrade Electronics Recycling is not R2 certified and has not enrolled in the R2 certification process. We read the R2v3 framework as a guide for our own practices and route material through certified downstream partners. We do not claim R2 status, nor are our operations audited under it.
The three areas below describe practices we work toward internally.
Documented Processes
We maintain SOPs for facility operations, intake, data destruction, and downstream tracking.
Downstream Accountability
We map the flow of material to end-of-life processing through certified vendors.
Data Protection
Physical and logical security controls for all assets in our custody.
Verify Your Certificate
Every destruction certificate we issue can be verified online for authenticity. Use the tools below to confirm your certificate is genuine.
Drive Wipe Certificates
Look up wipe certificates (NIST 800-88 guidelines) by serial number.
Search Certificates →Certificate of Destruction
Access your destruction certificates with QR verification codes.
View Your Certificates →Customer Verifiable: Each EverTrade certificate carries a unique identifier you can look up through our portal.