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This credit only works for the right kind of project
If salvaged materials are appropriate for your project, this credit should be easy enough to achieve. But you have to use a lot of salvaged materials to reach the threshold, so it's most feasible for small projects that target sources of salvaged materials early in the design process. Even then, it can be tricky because these are not the sort of things you can specify and count on being able to order from a supplier--the contractor or owner usually has to procure and stockpile salvaged items when they become available. That has to happen early enough that they can be included in the design, which is often long before they are needed on the job site.
Some projects also run into trouble with the fact that salvaged items aren't rated for structural strength or flame resistance....
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13 Comments
Duct Work
I think I know the answer, but can duct work be counted towards material re-use? I think not as it is MEP material and if being used for the same function it doesn't meet the criteria of being used in a different function.
Holly, it cannot be counted as it is MEP.
If it were not MEP then it could be counted if it is being reused in a different location in the building.
Manufacturer's Stockpile Material
I work for a major precast/prestressed manufacturer. Our products are always designed, manufactured and installed for each individual project. However, we sometimes have a few units sent to stockpile for various reasons and may never be used for any future project. Can these products be used for a future project and count as Material Reuse? We have been approached by a General Contractor working on a project pursuing LEED certification and they want to cover an existing pool (that will be used as a grey water cistern) with a few pieces of our stockpiled hollowcore. They plan on counting the plank toward Material Reuse credit. Since the material is not from another 'site' and was not installed in a previous structure I'm not sure if this qualifies as material reuse.
I don't think stockpiled materials that remain in a company's inventory would be accepted as reuse since it hasn't "entered the market." If you compare this to how pre-consumer recycled content is addressed you'll see a parallel: If a wood mill re-uses waste from its own process such as sawdust from milling lumber to make another product such as particle board or MDFMedium-density fiberboard (MDF): Panel product used in cabinets and furniture; generally made from wood fiber glued together with binder; similar to particleboard, but with finer texture, offering more precise finishing. Most MDF is made with formaldehyde-emitting urea-formaldehyde binder., that doesn't count toward recycled content. It's usually seen as a simple cost-cutting choice that many businesses would be likely to do.
However, if the surplus or by-product is sold to another company, that now creates a market for recycled for re-used content and would likely qualify for the credit.
Airport jetway re-use
We have an unusual case in an airport project I am working on. It is LEED-CI as we are refurbishing a passenger concourse and some of the back-of-house spaces that go with it. There are 11 jetways ("Passenger Boarding Bridges", or "PBBs" in the industry parlance); 4 are being replaced with new, 3 are staying where they are and being refurbished with paint and carpet, and 4 are being taken out of service at another terminal in the airport so we are moving those to our terminal. The PBBs have a number of architectural components: steel structure, interior carpet, paint, etc., and a lot of MEP components too: they supply air, water and electricity to parked aircraft. It seems like re-using the 4 PBB's should count as part of MR 3, it's less clear to me whether the 3 refurbished in place also count.
In general, it's a little unclear whether the line about changing the use of a product is that important here. The ref guide says a door reused as a table counts (of course the table should count as furniture, right, so maybe make that millwork?), but so does door hardware reused as door hardware. A CIv2.0 CIRCredit Interpretation Ruling. Used by design team members experiencing difficulties in the application of a LEED prerequisite or credit to a project. Typically, difficulties arise when specific issues are not directly addressed by LEED information/guide dated 7/2/2008 says "reused materials are materials that were manufactured, used for their intended purpose, and are being included in a build-out for that same purpose again." By that standard, all 7 of my PBB's would count, wouldn't they? Do you think I'd have to subtract out some fraction of their dollar value to account for the MEP components?
I was curious about this one, so I checked the CSI Master Format division list. Technically, it would seem that PBBs would fall under division 34 (34 77 13 Passenger Loading Bridges), and would therefore not qualify for inclusion in any of the MR credits, at least according to the MR credit metrics chart in the Reference Guide.
As I understand it, the reason LEED requires exclusion of HVAC, electrical, equipment, special construction, etc, etc, is that the cost of these products is weighted more heavily towards the engineering and unique construction/manufacturing requirements and less towards the actual material that goes into them. Inclusion of these types of items would throw all of the material calculations out of whack. Meaning, even if you were able to deduct the cost of the MEP components from the PBBs, you'd still end up with a skewed material cost.
The only way I could see attempting this would be to work with the PBB manufacturer to determine the true cost of materials (an additive approach), rather than the deductive approach of subtracting the cost of MEP components. You'd also have to deduct any other assemblies that wouldn't easily fit within CSI divisions 2-10... wheels, tires, suspensions, and drive motors come to mind. It would be a lot of work, and still a gamble, and I'm not sure it would pay off considering the paltry materials you'd have left compared to the materials going into the remainder of the project.
Reclaimed White Oak for Materials Reuse
I am using a reclaimed white oak wood from a barn to use on flooring. Can I use this for MRC4 recycled content or MRC3.1 materials reused?
Yes for materials reuse, since it's a reclaimed material being used for a new purpose. But materials reuse and recycled content are usually mutually exclusive. Recycled content comes from reuse of materials in manufacturing processes.
Re-used Food Service/Commercial Kitchen Equipment
I have had conflicting information regarding re-used commercial kitchen equipment, whose energy and water are measured as 'process.' Some say yes, others no. There are mechanical, electrical and plumbing components, and they are undesirable to haul, unless stripping for copper and steel, so in one respect, their re-use on a project is very attractive, not to mention cost-effective. Also, if the equipment is reused and non-energy star, it doesn't count against you in EAc1.4. It also appears in Division 11, which is "optional" under MRc5.1. But the MRc3.1 credit language seems to indicate that 'mechanical, electrical and plumbing components' are not included, yet most food service equipment contains some or all. And, I've heard of projects getting credit for reused kitchen equipment! I'm confused. It's one thing if a stainless steel worktable, pot/pan sink, etc. is re-used, and it would make sense that those be included. But does actual powered equipment qualify towards this credit officially or not?. . Many thanks!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but for material salvaged onsite to count toward MRc3.1, it has to be used in a different application than its original application. I don't think reusing equipment counts here.
That was also my understanding but there may have been some inconsistencies in the application, as I have had some foodservice consultants tell me that they have gotten credit for it. It is possible that they may have mistaken this credit for Regional Sourcing and Extraction, MRc5.1. I could see stainless worktables used in a different way, as well as millwork, i.e. I 've seen stainless worktables repurposed into desks, but geez, how can you repurpose an oven??
Determining Total Materials Budget
We are working on a CI project which has a significant amount of reused construction materials and furniture.
Should we include the replacement cost or the actual cost of construction materials and furniture in the total materials budget for the project? There seems to be some confusion over which cost must be included.
Thanks,
Adolfo
You can use the replacement value, rather than the actual value, for reused materials and furniture. Even if the reused or salvaged material cost is less than an equivalent new item, you can use the higher value of the new replacement item, but exclude the cost of labor or shipping.
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