I have yet to find a comprehensive list of manufacturers offering take back programs and supporting documentation of their recycling rates, as required by GBCI. The Better Materials database only has a yes or no for this, and no link to the program itself. No resources are available from USGBC. So far it seems like the only products that fit the bill are in carpet and flooring. Or maybe there is some secret database of these programs that I don't seem to be able to find?
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Simon Nussbaum
1 thumbs up
August 31, 2020 - 6:07 pm
Hi Cynthia - last time we looked at this we only saw the requirement for a documented recycling program (which our company implemented from the day we started, long before anything LEED related was on our radar) so I'll have to check out the documentation requirements. On Mindful Materials we've noted that we have a "return and recycle program"...I believe you may be able to search under that parameter and then see if they meet requirements.
Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11474 thumbs up
September 1, 2020 - 1:04 pm
I have seen this as an unfortunate blank spot for a while. I haven't researched this recently but last I checked USGBC and GBCI also had not done much to define minimum requirements for takeback.
Anyway... in addition to the areas you mentioned I would look for anything potentially containing mercury, or batteries, such as thermostats.
Simon Nussbaum
1 thumbs up
September 9, 2020 - 10:35 am
I did a bit more digging from a non-mfr perspective. On mindful MATERIALS and Declare there is basically a check box for a "take back program" or "return and recycle" program. It looks like in neither of these databases can you search based on that parameter. I'll let the good folks at ILFI know about this and am part of a newly minted mM mfr group so will bring this up there as well. We'll see if it can be improved...