Best Practices

Durable goods may be tracked according to weight, volume, or replacement cost.

All projects must develop a solid waste management policy for durable goods in accordance with prerequisite MRp2 Solid Waste Management Policy. The policy for durable goods is developed for the prerequisite and then implemented for this credit.

E-waste is most often recycled, but computers and monitors can be donated to charitable organizations that reuse the equipment and supply it to schools or other parties.

Discarded appliances and other electric-powered equipment are also included in this credit. It can be difficult to find a good disposal option, but recycling and donation options do exist in most areas.

Furniture is rarely recycled, but is generally diverted from the waste stream through donation, in-house reuse programs, or by selling it.

Consider developing a list of all approved materials, and have the project supervisor or other member of the project team occasionally walk the project site with the list to compared installed products with those in the list.

Provide tracking forms to subcontractors so they can easily record environmental data on the materials they purchase. This data can then be filed into a master spreadsheet that houses all of the environmental information for all subcontractors. (See the Documentation Toolkit for sample tracking forms.)

Research urea formaldehyde-free products, such as plywood, MDF, door cores, laminate countertops, and other composite materials, before construction begins to ensure that appropriate products are used.

It is helpful to give subcontractors and purchasing agents the following tools:

Incorporate low-emitting requirements into a more comprehensive Indoor Air Quality Plan required for IEQc1.5: Indoor Air Quality Best Management Practices—Indoor Air Quality Management for Facility Alterations and Additions by requiring the use of low-emitting adhesives,