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What’s “rapidly renewable”?
Rapidly renewable materials must have a harvest cycle of 10 years or fewer. This includes materials like bamboo, agrifibers, and others listed on the chart below. Materials for this credit can come from either plants or animals—but they have to be harvested without harming the animal. Wool is okay; leather isn’t.
“Big ticket” items are just the ticket
This credit can be very easy to achieve—it only requires that a small percentage of the materials budget be spent on rapidly renewable materials. But it can become challenging unless you make a concerted effort to research and specify products with rapidly...
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3 Comments
Hevea brasiliensis
Hello,
Has anyone ever specified rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) wood as a finish? I haven`t seen it being listed in any charts as the one above and it hasn`t come up in the forum posts.
The manufacturer claims that it has short harvest cycle and that after the latex is extracted the wood can be used as lumber.
Thank you,
Haven't seen these used - Do they meet the 10 year or less harvest cycle mentioned in the requirements? I understand that rubber trees may start producing latex after only 5 or 6 years, but are often kept in production until they are about 25 to 30 years old.
You`re right David. Now that I`ve read a bit more about it I learned that after 25 to 30 years of exploitation the trees use to be chopped down and burned however they started using it in construction, cabinetry and as a finish since the interest in alternative and more sustainable wood sources emerged. I guess the rubber tree doesn`t fit into the description of rapidly renewableTerm describing a natural material that is grown and harvested on a relatively short-rotation cycle (defined by the LEED rating system to be ten years or less). source but I wonder if there is another credit rewarding the project for using wood that has already served a different purpose and would otherwise be discarded.
Thank you,
M
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