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It may seem like a big task …
The prospect of physically and systematically sorting through all your building’s waste to identify a baseline understanding of your building’s waste can be daunting.
Check to make sure you fully understand the requirements of the credit before deciding not to pursue it, however, because a waste stream audit can provide valuable information about your project—and it can be a cheap credit, if executed properly.
… but it can pay off if you do it right
A waste stream audit can provide your team with information about your existing waste management programs that you can’t get through any other means. You may be able to cut your operational costs if your audit reveals any opportunities for source reduction.
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15 Comments
Time line for performing waste stream audit
Can a waste stream audit be performed during the last month of a performance period. In other words can it be done last minute and still count towards achieving credit.
Or, can a previously LEED-EB,V2 Certified project use original waste stream audit documentation as a means of achieving and providing necessary criteria for achieving this Credit. Can we use LEED-EB V2 documentation in our current LEED-EB O&M V3 project for the purpose of meeting intent and requirements.
Corinna Kester replied Consultant, Sustainable Buildings and Operations, KEMA Mar 31 2010
Hi Reynaldo -
The Reference Guide states that "the audit must be conducted during the performance period." As long as this requirement is met, you should be fine, timing-wise. The maximum performance period length is 24 months, so as long as your waste audit took place during this time period, you can use data from a waste audit you've already completed.
waste auditing timeline
Hi, I was wondering about the timeline. The reference guide reccomends performing the waste audit early in the performance period so improvements can be made over most of ther performance period. But I'm a little confused, don't all the performance periods for all the credits have to terminate within one week of each other and the performance period for this credit will be a typical trash collection cycle ( so maybe one week, I'm estimating). So in order for the performance periods to terminate within one week of each other you would have to perform the audit towards the end of the timeline. Can someone please help me clarify? Thanks.
Corinna Kester replied Consultant, Sustainable Buildings and Operations, KEMA Mar 31 2010
Hi Rachael -
You are correct that all of the performance periods need to end at the same time, though this “alignment window” has been changed from 7 days to 30 days (see the Reference Guide Addenda at www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=6395).
The performance period for this credit has the same requirements as all other performance periods - it must be at least 3 months in length, but no more than 24 months in length. The actual waste audit you conduct must occur within that performance period, but your waste audit can be of a day's waste, or of a week's waste, or some time period in between. You do not need to audit all the waste produced during the performance period.
A waste audit is a one-time activity that gives you a snapshot of your waste streams and helps you identify methods to improve waste diversion. For credits such as MRc7 (Solid Waste Management - Ongoing ConsumablesOngoing consumables have a low cost per unit and are regularly used and replaced in the course of business. Examples include paper, toner cartridges, binders, batteries, and desk accessories.), on the other hand, you would need to quantify the waste diverted over the entire performance period; this credit focuses on quantifying ongoing performance. MRc6 (Solid Waste Management - Waste Stream Audit), on the other hand, is about analyzing your waste stream in detail and identifying opportunities for improvement. MRc6 is not concerned with your exact level of performance but instead focuses on processes to help you improve diversion rates.
Rachael McClain replied Mar 31 2010
Thanks Corinna, that makes sense.
Pablo Fortunato Suarez replied Principal ESD Consultant/Architect, GreenArc Sustainable Building & Architecture Aug 09 2010
My client had conducted a waste stream audit more than 2 years before the performance period. They have an efficient waste reduction and recycling that is documented and this has been in place over the past years. Will the audit conducted before the performance period be accepted by LEED since the practice has been consistent working on continued improvement, or is there a need to conduct another waste stream audit?
Jason Franken replied LEED Consultant, YRG sustainability Aug 10 2010
A compliant waste audit must be conducted during a qualifying performance period, so an audit conducted more than 2 years before the end of your performance period will not count. The good news is that your client has experience conducting these audits and has a good waste management program in place, so it should be relatively straightforward to conduct a new audit. Make sure that the new audit meets the credit requirements rather than just repeating the procedure used for the old audit; since they were not considering LEED certification at that time, the old audit may not have met all of the compliance criteria.
Pablo Fortunato Suarez replied Principal ESD Consultant/Architect, GreenArc Sustainable Building & Architecture Aug 11 2010
Thank you Jason and regards.
Waste Hauler sorts off-site
The project that I am working on has one single waste hauler. As per NYC regulations all the trash and recycling are in separate bags, but other than that everything is sorted off site. We have space to conduct an audit on site, but we will not know exactly what is ultimately ending up at landfills and what is ultimately being recycled. Our problem is that when looking at the Waste Audit Summary template we need to weigh what is going to the 'Landfill Stream' and what is going to the 'Diversion Stream'. 100% of what we are weighing and separating is going to a sorting facility. Can we use the overall percent diversion rates (for each waste type) that the facility provides us with when calculating what pounds goes to the diversion stream and what goes to the landfill stream?
If anyone needs more clarity about my situation, don't hesitate to ask.
Tristan Roberts replied Editor – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, LLC Apr 05 2010
Kevin, it seems likely that the approach you're suggesting could work. A similar issue often occurs in LEED-NC MRc2: Construction Waste Management, and using the facility diversion rates works there.
Jenny Carney replied Director, YRG sustainability Apr 16 2010
Kevin,
The intent of the summary table is to help the building management understand what materials are generated at what rates, and also how effective occupants are at sorting their waste according the buildings separation strategy (presumably it's best when recyclables get into the recycling bags, because the sorting facility has a higher recovery rate/less contamination).
So, my opinion is that using the values that the hauler supplies is not the most useful here (though very useful for documenting MRc7). I would recommend entering the weights and types associated with the trash bags as "Landfill Stream" (even if some of the material gets sorted out and recycled eventually) and the weights and types associated with the recycling bags as "Diversion Stream".
Kevin Kelly replied Apr 16 2010
Jenny and Tristan,
Thanks for your input. I will definitely follow the route that Jenny described.
Pass-through waste and recycling
My project handles old HVAC equipment, compressor oil, and other miscellaneous waste for its clients. These waste streams are essentially pass-through items—unloaded from trucks and held for a short time before haulers pick them up.
Should these items be included in our waste stream audit? They seem more difficult to track and are not technically generated by the building occupants.
Tristan Roberts replied Editor – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, LLC May 26 2010
Sounds to me like this describes items as part of a business process and not items that would be conventionally understood as "waste" generated by the building. If that sounds right, I would say that these items do not need to be tracked. But I would be curious what anyone else thinks?
Jason Franken replied LEED Consultant, YRG sustainability Aug 10 2010
I agree - this waste is not generated at your project site and therefore would not be included in a waste stream audit.
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