Recycled Paper Products Certification

Core Certification Content

The Recycled Paper Products Certification focuses on the resource recovery and utilization performance and environmental safety of products, with core assessments covering the following dimensions:

Waste Paper Content Requirements: Strict requirements for the waste paper content of different types of recycled paper products are established in accordance with the CTS CRCB038-2026 technical specification. Recycled paper products such as newsprint, commercial paper, cultural paper, and household paper should be produced with 100% waste paper, with the addition of virgin pulp not exceeding 5%; wallpaper must contain no less than 60% waste paper; wallboard must contain no less than 80% waste paper; and building insulation materials produced from waste paper, such as soundproofing and thermal insulation materials, must contain no less than 80% waste paper.

Limits of Hazardous Substances: Testing of heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, etc.) and migratable hazardous substances in products to ensure compliance with standard limit values and guarantee product safety during use.

Product Labeling Requirements: Recycled paper products must clearly state that they are not to be used for special purposes such as food packaging or disposable surgical paper, ensuring compliance with intended use.

Enterprise Pollutant Emissions: Pollutant emissions from production enterprises must comply with national or local pollutant discharge standards, ensuring environmental compliance in the production process.

Product Quality Conformity: Product quality must meet the requirements of corresponding product quality standards, ensuring that recycled paper products meet both environmental and performance standards.

Certification Unit Division

According to the CTS CRCB038-2026 technical specification, the Recycled Paper Products Certification divides certification units by product type, specifically including newsprint; commercial paper such as packaging paper and paperboard; cultural paper such as exercise book paper, envelope paper, and printed matter; household paper such as toilet paper and facial tissue; wallpaper; wallboard; building materials such as soundproofing and thermal insulation materials produced from waste paper; and other recycled paper products. Products from different production sites constitute separate certification units.

Certification Process

The Recycled Paper Products Certification typically consists of the following stages:

Certification Application: Submission of application form, business license, product technical description, production process description, and waste paper source certification. The certification body conducts a preliminary review of the application documents.

Product Sampling and Testing: Personnel appointed by the certification body conduct sampling at the production site or finished product warehouse. Samples are sent to a laboratory with CNAS and CMA accreditation for testing. Test items include waste paper content, heavy metal content, limits of hazardous substances, and product quality.

Initial Factory Inspection: On-site audit of the production enterprise, covering aspects such as enterprise pollutant emissions, product quality management system, waste paper source and usage records, and production process control, to verify whether the enterprise's production and management processes meet certification requirements.

Corrective Actions and Re-verification: For non-conformities identified during the audit, the enterprise must complete corrective actions within a specified period and submit evidence for review by the audit team.

Certification Result Evaluation and Approval: After both product testing and factory inspection pass, the certification body conducts a comprehensive evaluation, approves the certification decision, and issues the certificate. The certificate is valid for three years.

Post-Certification Surveillance: Regular surveillance audits after certification, which may include unannounced inspections and market sampling, to ensure products continue to meet certification requirements. Surveillance includes factory inspections, product consistency checks, and product supervision testing.

Re-certification: A re-certification audit is conducted before the certificate expires to extend certification validity, typically on a three-year cycle.

Certification Value

Promoting Resource Recycling: Through strict waste paper content requirements, enterprises are encouraged to increase the recycling and utilization rate of waste paper, reduce consumption of virgin fibers, protect forest resources, and promote the development of a circular economy. Recycled paper products are produced with 100% waste paper, with the addition of virgin pulp not exceeding 5%.

Standardizing Healthy Industry Development: The establishment of the certification system provides unified technical standards and quality evaluation benchmarks for the recycled paper products industry, effectively regulating the use of the "recycled paper" concept, preventing inferior products from being passed off as high-quality or false advertising, and promoting fair market competition.

Meeting Green Procurement Needs: The certification certificate serves as an important qualification document to demonstrate the environmental attributes of products in government procurement, green procurement, and corporate sustainable supply chain procurement. Certified products can be included in the green product information catalog, giving them priority in government-invested projects, green buildings, and other engineering construction projects.

Enhancing Market Competitiveness: Certified products can use the certification mark to demonstrate their resource recovery and utilization attributes to consumers and buyers, thereby increasing market trust and competitiveness. Certified recycled paper products gain a differentiated advantage over similar products.

Promoting Enterprise Environmental Compliance: The certification process requires enterprise pollutant emissions to meet national or local standards, forcing enterprises to establish standardized production process systems and quality control systems, thereby improving overall environmental management levels.