wood with recycled content

Just reading through earlier posts in LEEDUser tends to guide one to an either MRc4 OR MRc7 approach for the wood in question. It is a bit outdated in terms of rating system versions, but if you check LEED Interpretation ID#5468, MADE ON 06/03/2002, it appears to indicate that it depends if the recycled content is post-consumer or pre-consumer. If the later, its in the grey area heading toward black, but to clarify the issue for everyone that uses this website, you could try to apply 1/2 of the value of the 20% of the value of the wood in question under MRc4. Then I would value for the remaining 80% new wood for MRc7. In a worst case scenario the reviewer will tell you to choose. Or you could write a CIR/LEED Interpretation since one does not appear to exist for this issue. Please let us know the result!

recycled wood does NOT count for MRc7. As to your question about the 80% that is non-recycled.....See page 398 in the LEED Reference Guide. That seems to offer guidance on separating the new wood from the recycled wood for accounting purposes. MRc7 has to include all new wood.

I have heard that new rules are in the works for both LEED v4 and LEED 2009 which ought to clarify the ongoing confusion surrounding FSC vs recycled content. Stay tuned.

In those principles of LEED webinars they are adamant that recycled wood doesn't count. But I got a LEED review comment a while back that said recycled FSC wood could go to either MRc4 or MRc7. I just stick with the principles of LEED webinar that the recycled part cannot count toward MRc7.