| Author |
Message |
Joel McKellar, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: joelmckellar
Post Number: 23
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 05:22 pm: |    |
I've been operating under the assumption that we can't require the contractor to meet a hard 10%/20% recycled content threshold for ALL applicable products and a better cost estimator than we currently have been able to find.
As a result, we've been forced to put recycled content requirements in the individual product (excuse me... "work results") specs. Question is, where do you set those limits???
I'm hoping through the collaborative engine that is the 4specs.com disscussion forum we can save each other some time by posting reasonable requirements for recycled content levels.
Rules
It would be helpful (for me at least) if our limits could be met by at least three manufacturers to allow for a competitive bid. If possible please distinguish between pre and post consumer content.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer! |
Joel McKellar, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: joelmckellar
Post Number: 24
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 05:23 pm: | |
STEEL - From EPA procurement guidelines:
US-EPA Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) discusses steel manufactured in either a Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) or an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF). Steel from the BDF process contains 25-30 percent total recovered materials, of which 16 percent is post-consumer steel. Steel from the EAF process contains a total of 100 percent recovered steel, of which 67 percent is post-consumer.
Recommendations for recycled content in steel reinforcing are not stated.
Typical BOF products include: hollow structural sections, steel studs, steel deck, plate, purlins, and wall studs. Typical EAF products include: beams and columns, channels, angles, plate, steel deck, and piling.
The amount of recycled content in steel products varies over time, both as a function of the cost of steel scrap and its availability.
BOF Steel Recycled Content Value for Typical Product:
Steel Stud Framing
Value = ($XXXX) (23.0 % + ½ 7.3 %) = ($XXXX) (26.65 %)
EAF Steel Recycled Content Value for Typical Product:
Wide Flange Structural Steel Framing
Value = ($XXXX) (58.6 % + ½ 32.6 %) = ($XXXX) (74.90 %) |
Anne Whitacre, FCSI CCS
Senior Member
Username: awhitacre
Post Number: 761
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 05:50 pm: | |
Masterspec has the individual recycled content requiements in each spec section, and its usually located in Part 1, in a separate article dealing with LEED requirements. on most of my projects, the general contractors want to pass on the LEED requirements to the subs, so the specific requirements need to be in the "bidding" sections read by the subs; the overall responsibility for LEED compliance needs to reside with the general contractor and be covered in Division 1 someplace. the Division 1 section is where you would have your LEED worksheets if you are including them in the project manual.
obviously in your steel example above, the content will not only vary over time but also by part of the country. there were steel plants in the Seattle are producing steel that ranged typically in the 90-95% recycled content range, but that was not the case everywhere. In any case, you will need to have some idea before the project goes to bid about what is generally possible in the area where your project is located. |
Peggy White, CSI, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: peggy
Post Number: 10
Registered: 07-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 06:33 pm: | |
Joel
You might consider just putting the recycled content submittal requirement in big ticket and multiple item Sections. Steel framing, concrete, steel doors and frames, ceiling panels and suspension systems, and so on - anything where there is a large quantity that can be easily calculated. If you have only two foot grilles at entrances, skip it. You will easily get 10 - 20% and more by this method. Be practical, and considerate of the amount of time it takes to gather this information for the more obscure items where it is not typically shown in the product literature or easily obtainable.
You may find this helpful for calculating steel recycled content: http://www.recycle-steel.org/rates.html |
Joel McKellar, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: joelmckellar
Post Number: 25
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, May 01, 2008 - 04:41 pm: | |
That's a very interesting idea... It would save a good deal of headache for both architect and contractor. |
Russ Hinkle, AIA, CCS
Senior Member
Username: rhinkle
Post Number: 46
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, May 01, 2008 - 05:31 pm: | |
Peggy is correct. I have been involved in the certification of 8 projects now. The only problem I have had getting points is when the contractor does not collect information from the subcontractors until the end of the project. I have been amazed at how high the percentages can be if the contractor is on board and being proactive about collecting information.
Require the contractor to collect material costs from all division 02-10 contractors. Even those that have no recycled content or local regional. Typically this allows for a smaller total materials cost then doing the default calculation. Therefore for the dollar values needed to meet the percentages are lower. |
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