Have you ever wrapped a gift? I bet you have. When wrap a gift I always seem to have a little paper left over. As it turns out when builders construct buildings they also have a little left over...LEED tackles the "little extras" through the materials and resources portion of their rating system. The materials and resources section of the LEED rating system focuses on using renewable materials, recycled materials, the reuse and re-purposing of building materials, and keeping the amount of materials sent to landfills as small as possible.
As some one that love to shop local there regional materials requirement (i.e. building materials that are harvested, fashioned, or manufactured within 500 miles of the project site). This credit keeps the cash in the local economy and also helps local green builders network and work together to find ways to better serve their clients and people in the area.
Also, as we discussed in LEED Site Selection a few weeks ago taking an old building and making it energy efficient can be difficult, but you get credit here for salvaging materials and using them in your project. Materials and Resources focuses on the longterm and looks at the materials longevity as in a cradle to grave, or cradle to cradle approach.
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2 comments:
Have you heard of the Deconstruction and ReUse Network? It is a non-profit. You should check out their site.
I have heard about "deconstruction" but nothing about the ReUse Network. I'll look into it. Thanks for the tip Shane and thanks for taking a look at the post.
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