With the recent down turn of the economy there have been many building materials that have been fabricated for buildings that will never be built. On our project, we have sourced structural steel that was already fabricated and ready to be installed in a project that will not be built. This idle steel has been resurrected to be used in a new job. To refurbish the steel, the rust has been grinded off and the ends of each beam are cut off where the old connecting plates were previously attached. The remaining length of each beam will be used in our project when possible. This will prevent the old beams from being scrapped, thus reducing the demand for virgin materials and reducing waste. Please clarify: does this reuse of structural steel contribute to Materials and Resources Credit 3, Material Reuse?
The project has requested a clarification regarding the reuse of steel beams that were not used for the originally specified project. Page 265 of the LEED NC 2.2 Reference Guide states for materials obtained off-site "the primary stipulation for qualifying as reused is that they have been previously used." This upholds the CIR ruling on 8/14/2003 that indicates that "the intent of the credit is to extend the life-cycle of building materials through re-use, rather than re-manufacture." This structural steel reuse does not contribute to MRc3. Applicable Internationally.