Path 1. Divert 50% and Two Material Streams (1 point)

Ayman Khulief

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Project location :

Egypt

April 29, 2021

Hello!

I represent a Solid Waste Management company often subcontracted to divert wastes from LEED projects. I have a silly question regarding Option 1. Diversion (1–2 points) in the MR c5 Construction and Demo Waste Mgmt. We often get contractors that imply LEED Rating Guide requires the diversion of ALL wastes generated onsite (including non-construction wastes; food, plastic bottles, etc...) This seems contradicting because if I understand the requirement below correctly, if a contractor were to pursue path 1, I can deploy 2 skip containers onsite each dedicated to a specific waste stream (selected from the list of waste streams identified in the Waste Mgmt Plan) throughout the life of the project (at minimum 50% diversion) and meet the requirement for 1 point?

Option 1. Diversion (1–2 points)

Path 1. Divert 50% and Two Material Streams (1 point)

Divert at least 50% of the total construction and demolition material; diverted materials must include at least two material streams.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Ayman

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Afogreen Build

www.afogreenbuild.com

Green Building Consultant

LEEDuser Premium Member

249 thumbs up

Mon, 10/25/2021 - 09:50

Hi Ayman, There is no clear definition in the LEED guide about "construction waste". However, total waste produced by the project is required to calculate the diversion rate. Therefore, it is better to include all waste generated by the project including food, plastic bottle, etc.

Susan Di Giulio

Senior Project Manager

Zinner Consultants

LEEDuser Basic Member

110 thumbs up

Mon, 10/25/2021 - 18:04

The qualifying waste streams need to be construction materials. One can be comingled construction waste, and clean recylable packaging from lunch could be tossed in there, I think. In the % of waste diverted calculations, the numerator is what you recycle and/or divert though other means (salvage, reuse on site, etc.), and the denominator is all the waste produced during construction. Since lunch trash is insignificant compared to the tons of waste in the concrete, wood and steel categotry, sure, recycle what you can but there will be some that goes into a trash or compost container.