Recovery and Recycling
Body Armor Recycling & Disposal
- Complete the Enrollment, Receipt, and Destruction (ERD) Request Form with all specified information. (Contact deandre for form)
- Seal all vests (excluding carriers) in boxes using tamper-evident tape.
- Ship items via common carrier (for example, Fed-Ex, UPS, or DHL).
- All departments should retain tracking records for all shipments and provide this information, as necessary, to maintain a chain of custody of the material.
- Once the items are received at our Fiber Brokers location in Brent, Alabama, your designated point of contact will be notified of the shipment’s arrival in its entirety.
- Once the materials have been destroyed and deemed no longer usable for ballistic protection applications, your department will receive a letter certifying the proper disposal and destruction of all submitted vest material, and an accurate and complete list of serial numbers (via US Mail).
- This process can take approximately 30-45 days to complete.
*Information is subject to change. Contact us for specific details regarding your shipment.
There are NO FEES for our service.
The material recovered during the recycling process will be used to manufacture an assortment of non-ballistic products including tires, tennis rackets, hockey sticks, snowboards, brake pad, jet engine enclosures, optical fiber cable systems, rope, flame resistant and heat protective clothing and helmets.
We provided a chain of custody form for you to fill out and provide with your shipment. Once the body armor is processed you will receive a Certificate of Destruction and Recycling.
Most of the body armor manufactured in the U.S. has a 5 year warranty expiration. Depending on the use and condition of the vest the life cycle may be shorter.
Body armor consists of layers of para-aramid fibers such as Kevlar and Twaron and/or PE based based fiber products such as Dyneema and Spectra.
Point Blank, Protective Products, PACA, Safariland and Second Chance. In addition to these companies there are over 50 smaller companies that also manufacture NIJ compliant body armor.
More than 3,000 police officers have been save since the mid 1970s when the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) began testing and developing body armor.