LEED Still Counts ADC Toward Recycling Credit

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Materials & Resources technical committee recently revisited the topic of C&D debris processed for use as alternative daily cover (ADC). This end use has been allowed to contribute to MR Credit 2, Construction Waste Management, in LEED-NC Version 2.1.

The issue was discussed in relation to the most recent version (2.2), and the status quo was maintained, although it will remain under scrutiny for the next iteration of LEED, which is a program of the U.S. Green Building Council  (USGBC). The committee considers it a complex topic that is especially difficult to address on a national level due to differences between regional market needs and realities.

The Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA), which is a member of the USGBC, was asked to provide input on the issue. “What we told them was that currently in many parts of the country a main market outlet for C&D products remains ADC,” says William Turley, executive director of the CMRA and associate publisher of Construction & Demolition Recycling. “We understand the committee’s concerns, but until more markets open up for the industry’s products, we have to use the ones we have, and for now ADC remains a major one. We are delighted the committee saw it that way, and look forward to working with the USGBC more in the future.”