Update and replace description under Beta Update as follows:
The requirement for diversion via multiple material streams in LEED has been removed. Project teams now have more flexible ways to prevent and divert waste in order to earn points. This new
structure rewards the hierarchy of first reduce,
reuse, and then recycle.
Additional updates clarify when
waste-to-energy can count as diversion for international projects. The changes also incorporate and modify the popular Pilot Credit 87 for Verified Construction & Demolition Recycling Rates into the credit (via Exemplary Performance) and define the minimum requirements for a commingled facility certified recycling rate. Finally, the total waste generation pathway has been revised to favor project types that source reduce and generate less waste overall.
Delete existing guidance under Step-by-Step guidance and replace with following sections for
CWM planning, certified recycling facilities, waste prevention and diversion as follows:
Refer to LEED v4 Construction and Waste Management Plan prerequisite reference guide with the following modifications:
All recycling facilities must be regulated by a local or state authority. Note that regulatory authorities often do not regulate recycling rates of facilities. To determine the mixed waste processing facility recycling rate, projects must use an average diversion rate for the facility that corresponds to the time materials were generated on the project and sent to the facility. The average recycling rate for the facility must exclude
ADC.
Construction Waste Management Plan
Step 1: Develop and implement a
CWM plan during the project design phase and prior to construction.
All projects must develop a Construction Waste Management Plan per the LEED v4 Reference guide with modifications made in the credit requirements. The Waste Management Plan should include goals for waste prevention,
waste diversion, identification of recycling haulers and recycling facilities, and data collection and reporting procedures.
Waste prevention: Include strategies targeted to reduce the total amount of waste generated during construction, renovation or demolition activities. Identify design strategies to dematerialize or otherwise prevent unused or waste materials. Deconstruct and salvage renovation materials for
reuse to the greatest extent possible.
Diversion: locate recyclers or organizations that provide recycling options for the materials targeted for diversion. Confirm each facility can accept the types of materials the project plans to send for recycling. Obtain a diversion rate for the facility/organization receiving materials, including
ADC amounts for commingled recycling processors. Indicate if any commingled facilities have third party verification of recycling rates. Projects must take the facility average recycling rate and be reported in weight or volume (must be consistent). Volume to weight conversions are acceptable if conversion factors are developed by reputable local agency or organizations.
o If no local values are available, project can refer to the most recent EPA Volume-to-Weight
Conversion Factors for Solid Waste:
www.epa.gov/smm/volume-weight-conversion-factors-solid-waste
Certified Recycling Facilities
Indicate in the Construction Waste Management Plan whether or not the selected recycling facilities that process commingled (mixed) materials have third party verification of their recycling rates. These facilities support accurate reporting and nationally consistent metrics for recycling rates. Qualified third-party organizations who certify facility average recycling rates include these minimum program requirements:
Requirements for Certified Recycling Facilities:
Projects must utilize a recycling facility that processes and recycles commingled (mixed) construction and demolition waste materials that has received independent third-party certification of their recycling rates. Qualified third-party organizations who certify facility average recycling rates include these minimum program requirements:
The certification organization follows guidelines for environmental claims and third-party oversight, including ISO/IEC 17065:2012 and relevant portions of the ISO 14000 family of standards.
The certification organization is an independent third party who continuously monitors "certified" facilities to ensure that the facilities are operating legally and meeting the minimum program requirements for facility certification and recycling rates.
Certification organizations shall certify to a protocol that was developed on a consensus basis for recycling facility diversion rates that is not in a draft or pilot program.
The methodology for calculating facility recycling rates must be:
o Developed with construction and demolition recycling industry stakeholders and be specific to the construction and demolition recycling industry;
o Must include a methodology that is applicable across broad regions (i.e. nationally); and,
o A published and publicly available standard.
Data submitted by the facilities to the certification organization in support of the recycling rate is audited. The audit includes, at a minimum: the evaluation of recyclable sales records, verification of facility sales into commodity markets, an assessment of downstream materials and how these materials are managed after they leave the site, monitoring off-site movement of materials, and a review of the facilities' customers weight tags information.
Facilities submit data to the certification organization that supports the recycling rate, such as a mass balance recycling rate (tons in/tons out) for a twelve month period, or quarterly sorts completed and verified by an independent third party entity.
Breakdown of materials (by type and by weight), including analysis of supporting data relating to amounts (in tons) and types of materials received and processed at the facility.
At a minimum, the third-party certifying organization conducts an on-site visit of the Facility for the first year certification, with subsequent site visits occurring at least once every two (2) years, unless additional visits are deemed necessary by the certification organization. The site visit will examine:
o How materials enter, are measured, deposited, processed/sorted and exit facility,
o Conduct interviews with key personnel, and discuss how materials are managed after they leave the site
o Confirm equipment types and capacity,
o Observe and verify load/materials sorting and accuracy,
o Verify use and accuracy of scales including calibration frequency.
Diversion rates shall adhere to these requirements:
o Measurements must be based on weight (not volume), using scales.
o Diversion Rates must be available on a website and viewable by the general public.
o Methodology for calculating diversion and recycling rates must be publicly available and applicable to national or country-level accounting standards for construction and demolition waste recycling facilities.
Facility recycling data submitted to certification program will be analyzed for recycling rates using a mass balance formula or quarterly sorts completed and verified by an independent third party entity.
Final recycling rate will include overall facility diversion rates with and without
ADC/Beneficial Reuse, and will include separate recycling rates by material type as well as combined average including
wood derived fuel/bio-fuel separate from other waste to energy or incineration end-markets.
Presently, the Recycling Certification Institute's Certification of Real Rates (CORR) protocol meets the above requirements. Find facilities at:
www.recyclingcertification.org/certified-facilities
Step 2 – Implement Waste Management Plan: Follow the LEED v4 Reference Guide for step-by-step guidance (Step #1) in the Construction Waste Management Credit. Note that project-specific
waste diversion percentages from waste sorting facilities are not allowed. Projects must use the facility’s average recycling rate.
Step 3 – Calculate Diversion Rate: Follow the LEED v4 Reference Guide for step-by-step guidance (Step #2) in the Construction Waste Management Credit. Note that the number of material streams are no longer required to be tracked.
Step 4 – Produce Waste Management Report: Follow the LEED v4 Reference Guide for step-by-step guidance (Step #3) in the Construction Waste Management Credit with modifications for the v4.1 changes herein.
Waste Prevention:
Follow step-by-step instructions from the v4 Reference Guide with the following modifications:
Step 2: Calculate Total Waste Reduction
Projects can document waste prevention techniques undertaken on the project to earn up to 2 points. To calculate the project’s total waste, include all materials generated from the project and sent offsite for recycling, diversion, landfill, incineration, or any other uses. Exclude hazardous materials, land-clearing debris, and on-site reused materials from the generation numbers. A narrative, provided in the LEED form, must describe strategies in design and construction to reduce waste from being generated on the jobsite (See LEED v4 reference guide, Further Explanation, Source Reduction for more guidance on
source reduction strategies).
Reducing waste by thoughtful design results in the reduction of waste on the jobsite. Stopping waste before it is created is always higher priority than managing waste after construction. Successful projects have implemented the following strategies to prevent construction and demolition waste in LEED:
Reuse buildings or building components. Materials that are reused onsite are excluded from the waste generation calculations. Sending materials offsite to salvage, donation or recycling, such as through a documented manufacturer take-back program, does not count as waste prevention but can count towards project diversion.
Source reduction strategies should be incorporated into the design of the project and outlined in the Waste Management Plan. These strategies include reusing existing materials and components, designing for modular construction sizes and techniques, specifying reduced packaging from vendors, designing for industry-standard measurements, eliminating unnecessary finishes, and off-site prefabrication of components or assemblies.
Work with subcontractors and/or finish material suppliers to eliminate or minimize packaging waste and reduce overall materials rather than send them for disposal or recycling.
Diversion
After exploring
source reduction and design strategies to prevent waste, determine strategies for on-site and off-site waste collection during construction and consider the infrastructure needed for implementation. Projects may use a combination of on-site separation and commingled collection to achieve the diversion goals, depending on what is appropriate for the project location, waste materials generated, and available facilities and haulers. Strategies for achieving high
waste diversion include:
Stage collection bins onsite to correspond with construction phases and contractor schedules. If one trade is onsite for a defined period that has a recyclable waste stream, consider having a single bin for that type of waste instead of—or in addition to—a commingled bin (examples include a bin for concrete recycling during demolition, or separate bins for drywall,
wood framing, or roofing waste during those phases).
Source separated materials taken to an individual recycler (such as a scrap metal recycler, sheetrock vendor, or biomass operator) will tend to have much higher diversion rates than a mixed-waste recycling processor.
Donate surplus or salvaged materials.
Participate in manufacturer take-back and recycling programs for removed products in salvageable condition, like ceiling tiles, furniture or flooring.
Incineration of some C&D materials (other than
wood) may be considered diversion for international projects only if
reuse and recycling methods are not readily available in the project’s location; this must be included in the Waste Management Plan. See Further Explanation for additional details on
waste-to-energy.
Under Further Explanation add the following paragraph:
"The combustion of
wood materials resulting from recycling processing (also known as “wood-derived fuel” or “biomass”) is classified as an acceptable means of diversion for projects both in the US and internationally and is not considered
waste-to-energy for LEED project diversion reporting purposes."
Edit the first sentence of the second paragraph to read as: "Forms of
waste-to-energy (other than
wood) are not widely utilized for construction and demolition waste management in the United States ..."
Under International Tips, replace the first paragraph in the Alternative Compliance Path for International Projects section with:
"International projects that cannot meet diversion requirements via
reuse and recycling methods may consider
waste-to-energy as diversion if the European Commission Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC and Waste Incineration Directive 2000/76/EC are followed. Furthermore,
waste-to-energy facilities must meet applicable European Committee for Standardization (CEN) EN 303 standards."
Revise the section under Required Documentation to read as follows:
A compliant Construction and Demolition Waste Management Plan.
A narrative for waste prevention/design strategies used on the project to achieve the waste threshold and calculation of total waste per area (if pursuing Waste Prevention points).
MR construction and demolition waste management calculator that demonstrates total and diverted waste amounts and documentation of recycling rates for commingled facilities.
International projects: justification narrative for use of WTE strategy for international teams and documentation of WTE facilities adhering to EN standards (if applicable)
Replace section under Exemplary Performance:
Generate less than 7.5 lbs./sf. (37.5 kg/m2) and divert 50% or more of waste
OR
Divert 50% or more of all waste and utilize certified recycling facilities for all
commingled waste.
