Certificate, record and what recycling means
In the Mexican market, the document issued by whoever receives the material is called a recycling certificate or recycling record (constancia). The name matters less than what you can prove with it.
Mexico's waste law defines recycling as transforming waste to restore its economic value and avoid final disposal, provided this saves energy and raw materials without harming health or ecosystems1. A good certificate shows that this happened: that the material reached the place where it is transformed.
A recycling certificate is the statement of whoever issues it. Environmental claims a company makes on its own have their own international standard, ISO 14021:2026, which defines commonly used terms and describes the documentation and methods for assessing them2. Third party verification is something else, and the document should say so.
What it must contain
| Item | What it should state | How it is checked |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Who delivered the material and who received it, with their tax details | CFDI for the transaction |
| What | The material, broken down by type or family, not "mixed scrap" with no detail | Weighbridge ticket and CFDI |
| How much | Real net weight: gross minus tare, on a scale | Weighbridge ticket with folio and photo |
| Where to | The destination where the material is transformed | Carta Porte for the haul, with origin and destination3 |
| When | The delivery date or the period it covers | Dates on the tickets and the Carta Porte |
| Folio and version | A unique folio, and the version if it was corrected | The issuer's verification page |
| Method and factors | If it reports avoided CO₂: method, factors, sources, boundaries, period and assumptions4 | The cited sources, which must exist |
| Verification | How to check the document is authentic, and whether a third party verified it | Public lookup or the verifier's report |
Red flags
- Estimated or round weights with no weighbridge ticket behind them.
- No folio, or a folio that cannot be looked up anywhere.
- Factors without a source: an avoided CO₂ figure that does not say which publication it comes from or which method was used4.
- It promises carbon credits or says it offsets or neutralizes your emissions.
- It asks you to subtract avoided emissions from your inventory. The GHG Protocol says avoided emissions are not included in or deducted from scope 34.
- It is corrected without a trace: a document that changes without a new version leaves no way to audit what it said before.
- It says "ISO certified" without saying which body certified what. Anyone can follow a standard; certification is given by an external body5.
Project reductions are quantified against a baseline scenario, with monitoring and reporting, as ISO 14064-2 describes6, and are validated or verified under ISO 14064-3; GHG programmes are what register those reductions7. A recycling certificate for a lot does not go through that process: it is not a credit and should not be sold as one.
How it is used in ESG reports and audits
The certificate is not your report: it is evidence for it. This is how it fits each framework:
GHG inventory
What you send for recycling goes in scope 3 category 5 of the GHG Protocol, which recommends the recycled content method4. See scope 3.
Avoided emissions
They are reported separately, with evidence that the material was collected, recycled and used, and with the method, sources, boundaries, period and assumptions4. See avoided emissions.
ISO 14064 verification
The verifier tests each figure by going from the report to the primary data and back7. A folio with a ticket, CFDI and Carta Porte is that path. See ISO 14064.
ISO 14001 audit
It is documented information for your operational control and your waste compliance8. See ISO 14001.
If you are a large generator, Mexico's waste law requires a management plan for the special handling waste on the official lists1. Per lot certificates document what left and where it went.
What the Bluegreen certificate includes
Bluegreen issues a certificate with a folio for every lot it buys, backed by the lot's documents.
- Documents: CFDI 4.0, Carta Porte 3.1 and weighbridge tickets with photos. Net weight is gross minus tare.
- Net impact: avoided CO₂e is counted only on what reached the mill, the lower of the origin and destination net weights, minus the emissions of each haul.
- Transport: Carta Porte kilometres × tonnes × 100 g of CO₂e per tonne-kilometre, the well-to-wheel value of the GLEC Framework v3.0 for road in North America9, following the ISO 14083 approach10.
- Not yet subtracted: yard operations are not measured per lot yet, so they are not subtracted with an assumed number.
- Versions: if a weight is corrected, a new version is issued; the previous one is never rewritten.
- Public verification: anyone can look up the folio online without an account, and the page shows the document's fingerprint so an auditor can compare it with their copy.
The current factor set is preliminary, and certificates that use it are not presented as verified. Bluegreen follows the GHG Protocol, the principles of ISO 14064-1 and ISO 14083, but holds no ISO certification and no third party verification. See the methodology.
To get a certificate for every lot you sell, see sell scrap metal.
How to verify a certificate
- 01
Find the folio
It should be on the certificate and be unique.
- 02
Look it up with the issuer
Search for it on the verification page of whoever issued it. Bluegreen's needs no account.
- 03
Compare the fingerprint
Bluegreen's verification shows the document's fingerprint: if it matches your copy's, the file was not altered.
- 04
Check the version
If a weight was corrected, there should be a new version and the previous one should still be in the history.
- 05
Cross-check your documents
The folio should match your tickets, your CFDI and the lot's Carta Porte.
Frequently asked questions
What is a recycling certificate?
The document that backs up that a material was recycled: who delivered it, what material, how much it weighed, where it went, when and which folio verifies it.
Are a recycling certificate and a recycling record the same?
In practice the terms are used the same way. What counts is what the document lets you prove, not what it is called.
What should a scrap metal recycling certificate include?
Who delivered and who received, the material, the real net scale weight, the destination, the date and a folio. If it reports avoided CO₂, the method and the factors with their sources4.
Can I subtract avoided CO₂ from my emissions?
No. The GHG Protocol asks for avoided emissions to be reported separately, without deducting them from scope 34.
Is a recycling certificate a carbon credit?
No. Project reductions are quantified against a baseline and validated or verified67; a per lot certificate does not go through that process.
Does it help with an ISO 14001 audit?
It serves as documented information on how you handle waste8. It does not certify your system: a certification body does that5.
Is the Bluegreen certificate verified by a third party?
No. Bluegreen holds no ISO certification and no third party verification, and its current factors are preliminary. What anyone can check online is that a certificate is authentic.
How do I get a Bluegreen certificate?
By selling your material to Bluegreen: every lot we buy comes with its own. See sell scrap metal.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from a third party publication. Names and logos belong to their owners and only identify the source; they do not imply endorsement.
- Cámara de Diputados, leyes federales vigentesLey General para la Prevención y Gestión Integral de los Residuos (vigente)Open the publication
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO)ISO 14021:2026 Environmental statements and programmes for products, Self-declared environmental claims (2026)Open the publication
- Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT)Complemento Carta Porte (2026)Open the publication
- GHG Protocol (WRI and WBCSD)Technical Guidance for Calculating Scope 3 Emissions, version 1.0, category 5 (2013)Open the publication
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO)Certification (2026)Open the publication
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO)ISO 14064-2:2019 Greenhouse gases, Part 2: Specification with guidance at the project level for quantification, monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emission reductions or removal enhancements (2019)Open the publication
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO)ISO 14064-3:2019 Greenhouse gases, Part 3: Specification with guidance for the verification and validation of greenhouse gas statements (2019)Open the publication
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO)ISO 14001:2026 Environmental management systems, Requirements with guidance for use (cuarta edición) (2026)Open the publication
- Smart Freight Centre (GLEC)Global Logistics Emissions Council Framework v3.0, tabla 6: North American road emission intensity values (2023)Open the publication
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO)ISO 14083:2023 Greenhouse gases. Quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions arising from transport chain operations (2023)Open the publication
