Recycling Infrastructure – Above Green

(2-5 points)

Intent

To encourage waste diversion of inorganic matter away from landfill and move towards 100% diversion from landfill.

Requirements

CITIES

Option 1: Remanufacturing (2 points)

Collection centers must be provided equipped with facilities to collect and store the waste products including (i) Electronics and Electrical Equipment (e-waste) and (ii) Packaging or metal cans to transfer these to the manufacturers. Collection centers must be within or outside the city boundary and may be operated by the municipality or other organizations such as Producer Responsible Organizations (PRO).

AND

Mandate a Manufacturers or Producer’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy for companies within the city’s jurisdiction to encourage refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling of the products collected. Policy should meet all of the following requirements:

Include specific guidelines regarding channelization, collection centers, storage, transportation, environmentally sound dismantling, recycling and refurbishment.
Mandate companies to collect a minimum of 10% of the total annual waste generated. Waste generated by the producer is calculated using the formula:

E-waste generation in the financial year ‘x-y’ = Sales in the financial year ‘(x-z) - (y-z)’ Where, ‘x – y’ = financial year in which generation is estimated (in weight or volume) z= average life span of the products

Identify suitable market for all the waste products collected from consumers. Vendors may be within the city or outside the city boundary.
AND / OR

CITIES, COMMUNITIES

Option 2: Material Recovery Facility (MRF) (3 points)

Waste Collection and Storage: Comply with the ‘Requirement’ sections of U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, Volume 26, Part 243 on Storage, Safety and Collection (or local, state or national equivalent) for storage and collection of recyclables.
Design a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) to recycle the inorganic waste such as paper/ corrugated cardboard, glass, plastic and metal generated within the city. Facility must be designed and operated in accordance to local/ national regulations including design features for sorting to specialization, bailing, shredding, crushing and compaction to prepare recyclables for end user manufacturer.
Identify suitable markets to collect MRF output for paper/ corrugated cardboard, glass, plastic and metal. Vendors may be within the city or outside the city boundary.

Recycling infrastructure should be planned and designed to cater to the phase-wise development of the city to ensure that the requirements are met at each phase.

References: LEED BD+C v4 MR Credit: Building Product Disclosure and Optimization- Sourcing of raw materials. TRUE Leadership Credit 4: Take responsibility for company products and packaging