Section 6: Materials & Resources (MR) Flashcards
What are the three main issues LEED focuses on for Materials & Resources (MR)?
- Conservation of materials
- Environmentally, socially, and locally preferable materials
- Waste management and reduction
Name five strategies for conserving materials throughout a project’s life-cycle
- Reuse existing buildings and salvages materials
- Plan for smaller, more efficient compact communities
- Design smaller, more flexible homes and buildings
- Use efficient framing techniques
- Promote source reduction in operations
With advanced framing, studs can now be spaced by how far?
24 inches
Name four strategies to promote sustainable purchasing during design and operations
- Identify local sources or environmentally preferable products
- Develop a sustainable materials policy
- Specify green materials and equipment
- Specify green custodial products
Incineration of waste produces what as a byproduct?
Carbon dioxide
Landfills tend to produce which potent greenhouse gas?
Methane
The United States currently recycles approximately what percentage of its solid waste?
32%
Name three strategies to reduce waste during construction
- Design buildings that produce less waste
- Develop a construction waste management policy
- Establish a tracking system
Name six strategies to reduce waste during during operations and maintenance
- Develop a solid waste management policy
- Conduct a waste stream audit
3, Maintain a recycling program - Monitor, track, and report
- Compost
- Provide recycling for durable goods
What is meant by cradle-to-gate?
Analysis of a products partial life-cycle, from resource extraction (cradle), to the factory gate (before it is transported for distribution and sale)
What is comingled recycling?
Putting the waste in one container to a facility where it can later be separated into different recyclable components
According to the EPA, what is the hierarchy ranking for the most environmentally sound strategies in municipal solid waste?
- Source reduction
- Reuse
- Recycling
- Waste-to-energy
What is adaptive reuse?
The process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for
What is cradle-to-grave?
A product that accepts disposal as part of a product’s life cycle
What is a cradle-to-cradle?
Materials which are perpetually circulated in closed loops – essentially a waste-free product. Both the product and any byproducts have value
What does FSC stand for?
The Forest Stewardship Council
What does EPD stand for?
Environmental Product Declaration
What does Environmental Product Declaration do?
Provides a full disclosure of the potential chemicals of concern in products by comparing product ingredients to a wide variety of “hazard” lists published by government authorities and scientific associations
What is FSC Chain of Custody?
A tracking system that allows manufacturers and traders to demonstrate that timber comes from a forest that is responsibly managed in accordance with FSC principles
What is pre-consumer material?
Material from industry scraps that was diverted from the waste stream and used for other purposes
What is post-consumer material?
A waste type produced by the end consumer of a material stream; that is, where the waste producing use did not involve the production of another product
What is post-consumer fiber?
Fiberous waste from municipal waste streams. Examples would be paper or paperboard
What minimum types of items must be recycled during operations to meet the requirements of the MR prerequisite?
- Paper
- Corrugated cardboard
- Glass
- Plastics
- Metals
Rapidly renewable fiber or animal materials must be grown or raised within what time-frame period?
10 years or less
What is the difference between Preconsumer waste and Postconsumer waste?
Pre consumer waste is material left over from the manufacturing process.
Post consumer waste is Manufactured products at the end of their useful life
Why does LEED not encourage the reuse of plumbing fixtures?
They have higher water demands
Materials that are made from plants that grow to harvestable maturity in 10 years or less are known as what?
Rapidly renewable materials
Why does LEED not encourage the reuse of windows or window glazing?
Older exterior windows/glazing are energy inefficient
GreenScreen standard is associated wit which LEED system?
Product Disclosure and Optimisation
Which type of material requires a Chain-of-Custody document?
Certified Wood
What is an agrifiber product?
A product made from agriculture fibre such as wheat board or straw board
What is land-clearing debris?
Waste from land-clearing, including soil, vegetation and rocks
Regional materials must be extracted and manufactured within a radius of how far?
100 miles
What are tripping fees?
Waste disposal fees charged by landfills, usually by ton
What ar the two standards which relate to Materials & Resources?
- FSC
- ISO 14021
What does fly ash replace in recycled content for concrete?
Cement
What should be considered first in the construction waste management program?
Reduce the total quantity of waste
Historically, what is the highest construction waste by volume that goes into a landfill?
Wood
Which standard refers to materials with recycled content?
- ISO 14021 - 1999 Environmental Labels and Declarations
Standard ISO 14021 refers to what?
Materials with recycled content
Green Label refers to what?
Carpets, for Indoor Air Quality
Green Seal standard look at what?
VOCs and Indoor Air Quality
A typical commercial construction project generates how many pounds of solid waste per square foot of space?
2.5 pounds
List eight examples of composite wood/or agrifiber products
- Particleboard
- Medium density filterboard (MDF)
- Plywood
- Orientated strand board (OSB)
- Wheatboard
- Strawboard
- Panel substrates
- Door cores
List two primary benefits of using regional materials
- Supports the local economy
- Minimises the impacts of transportation
List the three pieces if information required to verify FSC Certified Wood
- The volume of wood used on the project and the exact location where the wood was harvested
- The appropriate Chain of Custody (COC) certification number
- The name of the product manufacturer
Define elemental mercury
Elemental mercury is a pure mercury (as opposed to a mercury-containing compound), the vapour of which is commonly used in fluorescent and other lamps
Define USDA Organic
USDA Organic is a certification for products that contain at least 95% organically produced ingredients (excluding water and salt)
Define recycling in terms of building construction
Recycling is the collection, reprocessing, marketing, and use of materials that were diverted or recovered from the solid waste stream
What is Fairtrade?
Fairtrade is a certification system overseen by FLO International, which identifies products that meet certain environmental, labor, and development standards
Name a disadvantage of using co-mingled recycling as part of a construction waste management plan
It may be more expensive than site-separated recycling
Regional materials are also known as what?
Locally sources materials
Bamboo, wheat straw, sunflower hulls, cork, linoleum and cotton are all examples of what?
Rapidly Renewable Materials
Define the Chain-of-Custody certification
The COC certification ensures wood has been harvested through a FSC certified source. It is award to companies that process, manufacture, and sell certified wood products
Name three types of recycled materials
- Pre-consumer
- Post consumer
- Post consumer fiber
What material is the most recycled product in the United States?
Steel
Define “durability” in terms of sustainable construction
The ability of a building or any of its components to perform its required function in a service environment over a period of time without needing unforeseen maintenance or repair
Items having a useful life of 2 years or more without frequent replacement are called what?
Durable goods
At the end of each operating day, what should be placed on the surface of the active face of municipal solid waste landfill to control vectors, fires, doors, blowing litter, and scavenging?
Alternative daily cover
What is the most common way to divert waste from landfills?
Recycling
When strict air quality control measures are enforced, what can be a viable alternative to extracting fossil fuels to produce energy?
Waste-to-energy
List four special types of equipment that is excluded for the Materials & Resources credit calculation
- Elevators
- Excavators
- Process equipment
- Fire suppression systems
Projects must take appropriate measures for the safe collection, storage, and disposal of what three materials?
- Batteries
- Lamps (containing mercury)
- Electronic waste
What kind of debris cannot be considered as construction, demolition, or renovation waste and cannot contribute to waste diversion?
Land clearing
Define refurbished material
Refurbished materials are products that could have been disposed of as solid waste. These products have completed their life cycle as consumer items and are then refurbished for reuse without substantial alteration of their form
Define pre-consumer material
Pre-consumer material is material diverted from the waste stream during the manufacturing process
The percentage of material recycled in a product that is either post consumer or pre consumer recycled content is known as what?
Assembly recycled content
What is the solid residue derived from incineration processes?
Fly ash
What type of material has a low cost per unit and are regular used and replaced in the course of business?
Ongoing consumables
What is the management activity that disposes of waste other than through incineration and the use of landfills?
Waste diversion
The are examples of what?
- Particle board
- Medium density filterboard (MDF)
- Plywood
- Orientated strand broad (OSB)
- Whatboard
Composite wood and agrifiber products
What is another word for pure mercury?
Elementary mercury
Waste disposal fees charged by landfills are known as what?
Tripping fees
What is an alternative daily cover?
Material that is placed on the surface of the active face of the municipal solid waste landfill at the end of each operating day to control vectors, fires, doors, blowing litter, and scavenging
How is assembly recycled content determined?
Assembly recycled content is determined by dividing the weight of the recycled content by the overall weight of the assembly
Which member of the LEED project team would be responsible documentation of construction waste management?
Contractor
What percentage of mercury containing lamps may be excluded from the purchasing plan?
0%, all mercury containing lamps must be included
List seven examples of rapidly renewable materials
- Cork
- Bamboo
- Natural Rubber
- Wheat
- Cotton
- Straw
- Linseed (linoleum)
What is composite wood?
Composite wood is made from several materials and agrifiber products are made from plant fibers. These materials are: particleboard, medium- density fiberboard (MDF), plywood, oriented-strand board (OSB), wheatboard, strawboard, panel substrates and door cores.
A furnace or container for burning waste materials is known as a what?
Incinerator
Define waste as reference in LEED
In LEED, waste refers to all materials that are capable of being diverted from buildings waste stream
