SPECIAL REPORT
LEEDuser overview
LEED is changing all the time, and every project is unique. Even seasoned professionals can miss a critical detail and lose a credit or even a prerequisite at the last minute. Our expert advice guides our LEEDuser Premium members and saves you valuable time.
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Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Have in place storage locations for recyclable materials, including mixed paper, corrugated cardboard, glass, plastics, and metals. Safely store and dispose of batteries and all lamps (indoor and outdoor, hard-wired and portable fixtures).
Track and measure all ongoing waste and durable goods waste.
Measure the total weight of waste (in lbs., kg, or tons) that is generated, and the total weight that is diverted from landfills and incineration facilities for one full year or from a waste analysis. Exclude any facility renovations waste.
Input generated and diverted waste totals into the Arc platform, and calculate a Waste Performance Score for the project.
LEED points for this prerequisite are awarded for Waste Performance Scores above 40, according to Table 1.
| Waste Performance Score | LEED Points |
|---|---|
| 40 | 3 |
| 44 | 4 |
| 57 | 5 |
| 69 | 6 |
| 82 | 7 |
| 94 | 8 |
What does it cost?
On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.
Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.
This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.
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Checklists
LEEDuser’s checklists walk you through the key action steps you need to earn a credit, including how to avoid common pitfalls and save money.
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Documentation toolkit
LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.
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Addenda
Revise 5th paragraph to read as: "LEED points for this prerequisite are awarded for waste performance scores above 40, according to Table 1. "
Delete "Required" from first rows of Table 1.
Add the following language at the end of Step 2: "Include waste values for any shredded paper and electronic durable goods. Ensure the total weight of any electronic durable goods collected during an e-waste event does not include waste that was generated from occupant homes."
Under Step 4:
Revise bullets to read as:
" - Upload Arc Data Template
- Enter data directly"
Add the following to the paragraph under the bullet points: "Make sure the entire building’s waste streams are included. It is not sufficient to include only base building waste data."
Delete "Make sure all waste streams are included." from 3rd paragraph
Under Required Documentation, add "(initial certification projects only)" to the end of the first bullet.
Add the two following sub-bullets under the second bullet:
"o The reports must include the name of the organization that prepared the documentation and description of how the data was collected.
o If waste values have been estimated, provide a narrative explaining the method used. "
Revise this bullet to read as: "Waste performance score result"
Delete second bullet under "Changes from LEED v4"
Revise the 3rd paragraph to read as:
"If actual weight cannot be measured, the waste quantity may be converted to weight using an appropriate volume to weight conversion factor. Facility-specific or regional conversion factors may be available. The EPA also publishes volume to weight conversion factors (see their document Volume-to-weight conversion factors for solid waste). Waste quantity estimates based on the amount of waste in the waste container must take into account how full the container is (as opposed to assuming the waste container is full).
If the project shares waste collection with other buildings or spaces, pro-rating based on total number of occupants or other appropriate methodology (e.g. space type or square footage) is acceptable."
Add the following bullet to the Required Documentation section:
- Description of collection, storage and disposal process for recyclable materials (including mixed paper, corrugated cardboard, glass, plastics, and metals), batteries and all lamps (indoor and outdoor, hard-wired and portable fixtures).
Replace equations 1 through 5 with:
Equation 1. Average daily waste generated = (waste generated / # days associated with waste total) / occupancy
The waste diverted is converted into a daily waste undiverted per occupant, using Equation 2.
Equation 2. Daily waste undiverted per occupant = (waste diverted / # days associated with waste total) / occupancy
The daily undiverted waste is calculated using Equation 3.
Equation 3. Daily undiverted waste per occupant = daily waste generated per occupant– daily waste diverted per occupant
Add "(Required)" after the 40 point threshold
After the examples, edit the second to last paragraph to read as "The project’s calculated average daily waste generated per occupant AND average daily waste undiverted per occupant are input into the waste scoring function to calculate the waste performance score. "
After the third bullet, edit the sentence to read "The waste generated is converted into an average daily waste generated per occupant, using Equation 1."
LEEDuser overview
LEED is changing all the time, and every project is unique. Even seasoned professionals can miss a critical detail and lose a credit or even a prerequisite at the last minute. Our expert advice guides our LEEDuser Premium members and saves you valuable time.
Already a premium member? Log in now
Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Have in place storage locations for recyclable materials, including mixed paper, corrugated cardboard, glass, plastics, and metals. Safely store and dispose of batteries and all lamps (indoor and outdoor, hard-wired and portable fixtures).
Track and measure all ongoing waste and durable goods waste.
Measure the total weight of waste (in lbs., kg, or tons) that is generated, and the total weight that is diverted from landfills and incineration facilities for one full year or from a waste analysis. Exclude any facility renovations waste.
Input generated and diverted waste totals into the Arc platform, and calculate a Waste Performance Score for the project.
LEED points for this prerequisite are awarded for Waste Performance Scores above 40, according to Table 1.
| Waste Performance Score | LEED Points |
|---|---|
| 40 | 3 |
| 44 | 4 |
| 57 | 5 |
| 69 | 6 |
| 82 | 7 |
| 94 | 8 |
Documentation toolkit
LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.
Already a premium member? Log in now
Addenda
Revise 5th paragraph to read as: "LEED points for this prerequisite are awarded for waste performance scores above 40, according to Table 1. "
Delete "Required" from first rows of Table 1.
Add the following language at the end of Step 2: "Include waste values for any shredded paper and electronic durable goods. Ensure the total weight of any electronic durable goods collected during an e-waste event does not include waste that was generated from occupant homes."
Under Step 4:
Revise bullets to read as:
" - Upload Arc Data Template
- Enter data directly"
Add the following to the paragraph under the bullet points: "Make sure the entire building’s waste streams are included. It is not sufficient to include only base building waste data."
Delete "Make sure all waste streams are included." from 3rd paragraph
Under Required Documentation, add "(initial certification projects only)" to the end of the first bullet.
Add the two following sub-bullets under the second bullet:
"o The reports must include the name of the organization that prepared the documentation and description of how the data was collected.
o If waste values have been estimated, provide a narrative explaining the method used. "
Revise this bullet to read as: "Waste performance score result"
Delete second bullet under "Changes from LEED v4"
Revise the 3rd paragraph to read as:
"If actual weight cannot be measured, the waste quantity may be converted to weight using an appropriate volume to weight conversion factor. Facility-specific or regional conversion factors may be available. The EPA also publishes volume to weight conversion factors (see their document Volume-to-weight conversion factors for solid waste). Waste quantity estimates based on the amount of waste in the waste container must take into account how full the container is (as opposed to assuming the waste container is full).
If the project shares waste collection with other buildings or spaces, pro-rating based on total number of occupants or other appropriate methodology (e.g. space type or square footage) is acceptable."
Add the following bullet to the Required Documentation section:
- Description of collection, storage and disposal process for recyclable materials (including mixed paper, corrugated cardboard, glass, plastics, and metals), batteries and all lamps (indoor and outdoor, hard-wired and portable fixtures).
Replace equations 1 through 5 with:
Equation 1. Average daily waste generated = (waste generated / # days associated with waste total) / occupancy
The waste diverted is converted into a daily waste undiverted per occupant, using Equation 2.
Equation 2. Daily waste undiverted per occupant = (waste diverted / # days associated with waste total) / occupancy
The daily undiverted waste is calculated using Equation 3.
Equation 3. Daily undiverted waste per occupant = daily waste generated per occupant– daily waste diverted per occupant
Add "(Required)" after the 40 point threshold
After the examples, edit the second to last paragraph to read as "The project’s calculated average daily waste generated per occupant AND average daily waste undiverted per occupant are input into the waste scoring function to calculate the waste performance score. "
After the third bullet, edit the sentence to read "The waste generated is converted into an average daily waste generated per occupant, using Equation 1."
WSP
Senior Sustainability Manager