Waste reduction final report -4 - Test Input

have implemented varying bans on some recyclable materials. Gypsum for example is
banned from all landfills in British Columbia (and recently also in the Ottawa municipal
region). Since the mid-1990s Nova Scotia’s landfills cannot legally accept recyclable
materials. The legislation requires ICI waste generators to separate recyclable materials from
all other waste. This include a ban on CRD waste in regular municipal landfills. In Nova
Scotia CRD waste must go to a licensed CRD yard for recycling and what cannot be recycled
must go to a special landfill.
3.2 Green building rating systems
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED green building rating
administered in Canada by the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) has had
considerable impact on construction practise 14 . LEED was developed to provide an agreed
standard for what constitutes "sustainable building” and to transform existing building
markets so that sustainable design, construction and operation become mainstream practices.
LEED Canada NC 2009 offers a third-party certification process whereby points are collected
within five environmental performance categories. A total of 110 points are available. One of
these categories “Materials and Resources” includes several credits worth 14 points that are
aimed at waste reduction. These include:
• The Building Reuse credit (Materials & Resources, credit 1) offers up to four points
for extending the life of existing buildings thus conserving materials that would have
been used for a new building. To score one point, a minimum 55% of the main
portion of the building structure and shell should remain in place. More points are
available if a greater proportion is reused.
• The Construction Waste Management credit (Materials & Resources, credit 2)
aims to address the large volume of construction waste generated. One or two points
are available for diverting 50% or 75% of the weight (or volume) of construction,
demolition and land clearing debris from landfill disposal.
• The Resource Reuse credit (Materials & Resources, credit 3) aims to extend the life
cycle of building components by specifying salvaged, reused or refurbished
components. This saves the resources needed to produce new components. One or two
points are available if 5% or 10% of the total value of building materials comes from
reused sources.
• The Recycled Content credit (Materials & Resources, credit 4) aims to increase
demand for building materials such as steel that incorporate recycled content. LEED
Canada differentiates between post consumer waste and post industrial waste. One
point is available if the sum of the post-consumer recycled content plus one half of the
post-industrial recycled content constitutes at least 10% of the total value of material
for the project. A further point is available if these proportions are doubled.
Other green rating tools in use in Canada include Geen Globes which is an web based
alternative to LEED, with many similar characteristics, that is sometimes used for smaller
buildings. The Building Office Managers Association (BOMA) have adopted a revised
version of GreenGlobes as their BOMA Best program that has had a considerable impact on
existing commercial office space and includes some requirements for waste management.
Toronto City has developed its own standard called the Toronto Green Development
14 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), Canada Green Building Council
www.cagbc.org
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