With rapid growth of infrastructure industry, the problem of the waste generated from their construction and demolition has also increased. It becomes really important to reuse these type of waste and their proper handling.

LEED in its green building certification v4.1 has put special attention on the credit of Construction and Demolition waste Management categorized under MR credit.

LEED v4.1 now makes it much easier to earn points if the proper Management of construction waste is done.

The intent of this credit is to to reduce construction and demolition waste disposed of in landfills and incineration facilities by recovering, reusing, and recycling materials.

1-2 points are awarded for this credit

This credit is applicable to

New Construction (1–2 points), Core & Shell (1–2 points), Schools (1–2 points), Retail (1–2 points), Data Centers (1–2 points), Warehouses & Distribution Centers (1–2 points), Hospitality (1–2 points)& Healthcare (1–2 points).

Requirements

NC, CS, SCHOOLS, RETAIL NC, DATA CENTERS, WAREHOUSES & DISTRIBUTION CENTERS, HOSPITALITY NC, HEALTHCARE

Recycle and/or salvage nonhazardous construction and demolition materials. Calculations can be by weight or volume but must be consistent throughout.

Exclude excavated soil, land-clearing debris from calculations. Include materials destined for alternative daily cover (ADC) in the calculations as waste (not diversion). Include wood waste converted to fuel (biofuel) in the calculations; other types of waste-to-energy are not considered diversion for this credit.

However, for international projects that cannot meet credit requirements using reuse and recycling methods, waste-to-energy systems may be considered waste diversion if the European Commission Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC and Waste Incineration Directive 2000/76/EC are followed and Waste to Energy facilities meet applicable European Committee for Standardization (CEN) EN 303 standards.

Option 1. Diversion (1–2 points)

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

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

OR

Path 1b. Divert 50% using Certified Commingled Recycling Facility and One More Material Stream (1 Point)

Divert at least 50% of the total construction and demolition material; diverted materials must include at least two material streams. All commingled recycling is required to be one of the streams and must be sent to offsite sorting facility(ies) certified by the Recycling Certification Institute or approved equivalent.

OR

Path 2a. Divert 75% and Four Material Streams (2 points)

Divert at least 75% of the total construction and demolition material; diverted materials must include at least four material streams.

OR

Path 2b. Divert 75% using Certified Commingled Recycling Facility and Two More Material Streams (2 points)

Divert at least 75% of the total construction and demolition material; diverted materials must include at least three material streams. All commingled recycling is required to be one of the streams and must be sent to offsite sorting facilities certified by the Recycling Certification Institute or approved equivalent.

OR

Option 2. Reduction of Total (Construction and Demolition) Waste Material (2 points)

Salvage or recycle renovation and demolition debris and utilize onsite waste minimizing design strategies for new construction activities. Achieve the waste generation thresholds in Table 1 and create a narrative describing how a project is addressing waste prevention and/or achieving waste generation thresholds via design strategies.

Do not generate more than 7.5 pounds of construction waste per square foot (36.6 kilograms of waste per square meter) of the building’s floor area for all BD&C projects except warehouses.

Table 1: Thresholds of compliance for reduction of total waste material

Type of Waste	Building Type	Total Waste Reduction Requirements	Points Available
Renovation and Demolition Waste	All	Salvage or recycle at least 75%, not including ADC	Required
New Construction Waste	All except warehouses	Reduce waste generation to less than 7.5 lbs/sf	2
New Construction Waste	Warehouse projects	Reduce waste generation to less than 2.5 lbs/sf

The different type of waste segregated for reuse is shown in the pics below