My reviewer for this credit (MRc5) has questioned our usage of the location of the harvesting / extraction being the same as the manufacturer for the steel products. I contacted the steel company again and got the following documentation:
“For projects that are located less than 500 miles from the mill, consider the recovery / harvest point as the mill location. The Regional Material Value can be calculated using 100% of the recycled content (recovered/harvested scrap) of the product used.”
Does anyone think this wording is a problem as it relates to this credit?
As always, thank you for the input. Todd B.
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Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11477 thumbs up
July 26, 2014 - 1:12 am
This is not adequate wording, and not logical. There may be a kernel of truth in it—see our guidance above—but the language on its face does not make sense to me.
Jon Clifford
LEED-AP BD+CGREENSQUARE
LEEDuser Expert
327 thumbs up
July 28, 2014 - 3:17 pm
Todd/Tristan: The language cited by the steel manufacturer appears to be derived from a 2001 LEEDv2.0 CIR (LI#6058), Paraphrased, this ruling allowed project teams to count 100% of recycled materials obtained from recycling facilities within 500 miles as regionally recovered (extracted).
However, MRc5 requirements & credit language have morphed a bit since then. LEED-2009 addenda from April & July 2010 ultimately clarified the requirement as follows:
“The extraction point for recycled materials is the location of the raw material prior to the manufacturing of the final building product. As such, the point of extraction could include a recycling facility, scrap yard, depository, stockpile, or any other location where the material was collected and packaged for market purchase before manufacturing. It is not necessary to track the origin of the raw material before it arrived at the point of extraction.”
Thus, the steel manufacture claim could still be valid if the facility from which they obtained recycled steel is located AT OR ADJACENT TO their mill. (This would not be unusual.) Ask your steel mill to clarify the location of the facilities or stockpiles from which they purchased recycled goods.