We request a Credit Interpretation for an Innovation and Design credit for Exemplary Recycling Performance. In a CIR Ruling dated 3/8/04, you state that a recycling ID credit can be achieved if there is a ".substantial and measurable environmental benefit." You mention that previous projects have achieved an innovation credit by calculating the amount of material recycling achieved by MRp1 and then calculating the percent improvement over that recycling rate they achieved by recycling/reusing additional materials.Our question relates to applying this credit to a university campus where many of the facilities are shared. Our project is a renovation of a residence hall. In addition to recycling the basic recyclables required in MRp1, we offer collection of wooden pallets, old electronic equipment, furniture, batteries and other materials. We also have an extensive, university-wide composting program that collects organic cafeteria scrap and landscaping waste. The cafeteria is a separate building that serves students, faculty and staff on campus. The landscaping waste is collected from the entire campus, including our project site. In fiscal year \'05 every building on campus collected the basic recyclables mentioned in MRp1, collecting 195 tons of material (173 tons paper, 11 tons cardboard, and 11 tons cans and bottles). We recycled an additional 453 tons of other materials (167 tons landscaping waste, 186 tons food waste, and 100 tons other recyclables), for a 233% increase in our overall recycling rate.We understand that ID credits are not awarded through the CIR process, but we would like to know if an ID credit can be achieved for campus-wide exemplary performance. The students who will live in our residence hall are also using our cafeteria and using the landscaped common areas that contribute to the composting collection. The residence halls, classrooms, libraries, cafeteria, and common spaces within our campus collectively represent one community and our recycling efforts are geared towards this community. We would also like to know the target percentage for exemplary performance in recycling. By how much must a project increase their recycling collection compared to what is collected for MRp1 to achieve an ID credit?
According to the IDc1.1 ruling on 3/8/04, the concept in your proposal is viable. In addition to the doubling of the Prerequisite 1 minimum materials benchmark (by weight, volume or recycling rate), an overall campus-wide recycling rate of 40% must be achieved in order to qualify for the point (40% is taken from LEED-EB MRc5). Landscape waste must not be factored into the volume of waste collected, as it is standard practice (and often regulated) to compost landscaping waste instead of sending it to landfill. All regulated wastes must also be excluded. Applicable Internationally.