Can you count the use of wood mulch in the MRc4 - recycled content credit? My initial reaction was to think no, since the source material could possibly be classified as a raw material (wood). But then I read the LEED v3.0 reference guide definition for Postconsumer recycled content on pg 377...
"Postconsumer recycled content is the percentage of material in a product that was consumer waste. The recycled material was generated by household, commercial, industrial, or institutional end-users and can no longer be used for its intended purpose. It includes returns of materials from the distribution chain (ISO 140221). Examples include construction and demolition debris, materials collected through recycling programs, discarded products (e.g. furniture, cabinetry, decking), and landscaping waste (e.g., leaves, grass clippings, tree trimmings)."
So I guess if you can document that the mulch as being made of postconsumer recycled content from tree trimmings, you can count it? Anyone have direct project experience with this issue?
Anne Nicklin
Executive DirectorBuilding Materials Reuse Association
167 thumbs up
November 11, 2010 - 10:09 pm
Hi Kelly,
If the mulch is truly from a recycled source, then yes it can count towards MRc4. Any mulch from a virgin tree cut for the purpose of being mulched would not count, but if the manufacturer can display that they are re-processing a material in compliance with ISO 140221, then it should count.
I'm assuming that you have trees on your site that are being cut down to make way for a building? They would be included in your MRc2 calculations, and chipping them to reuse on site certainly seems to me like a reasonable manufacturing process to qualify as recycled content.
That said- it's possible that the GBCI reviewers could see this practice as akin to the use of crushed rock that has been excavated on-site. The crushed rock can be applied to MRc5, but not MRc4. So- include the recycled wood mulch in MRc4, but be prepared in case it is turned down.
Best- anne