Our project, a large corporate office campus project, proposes the following ongoing recycling program for the campus. Please confirm whether this complies with the LEED prerequisite. 1) Individual user bins: a) Small recycling stations at each office floor to have four containers/grommets, one for each of the following: Regular trash; Metal; Plastic; Paper *Note: Glass will not be collected in office areas, because glass will be kept to a minimum on campus, due to the current difficulty of recycling glass in Austin. There is a slim market for glass recycling, and a glut of glass currently stockpiled at the city recycling center. In the future, if glass recycling becomes more viable, the container designated for paper at the recycling stations can be switched to glass, with all paper collection shifting to the individual desk bins described below. b) Individual paper bins at each desk to be emptied by maintenance and recycled (all paper will be handled as confidential) c) Individual bins in cafeteria kitchen for: Trash; Compostables; Cardboard; Glass; Plastic; Metal (cans) d) Individual bins in cafeteria dining area for: Trash; Compostables; Glass; Plastic; Metal (aluminum cans) 2) Large hauling bins: a) Compactors at main Shipping & Receiving (next to cafeteria) for: Trash; Compostables; Cardboard b) Additional containers for metals and glass recycling on an as-needed basis c) Smaller hauling carts at each building for: Mixed paper; Plastic 3) Waste Reduction: In addition to the recycling initiatives above, the Owner has committed to completely eliminate Styrofoam from the cafeteria service. This will eliminate a major non-recyclable trash item. Our company is currently committed to washable dishware for the cafeteria, and is researching the potential for compostable take-away containers.
The recycling program as described meets the intent of the credit. Be sure to include the above description with a drawing highlighting the recycling collection and storage areas in the LEED submittal. Applicable Internationally.