LEED waste diversion refers to the process and strategies used to reduce the amount of construction, renovation, and demolition waste that ends up in landfills or incinerators by recovering, reusing, and recycling materials as part of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification projects.
- Diversion Goals: LEED projects are required to set specific goals for diverting waste from landfills. For example, LEED v4.1 requires a minimum of 50% diversion of non-hazardous construction and demolition (C&D) debris, while LEED v4 requires at least 75% diversion.
- Projects Waste Management Plan: Projects must develop and implement a detailed construction and demolition waste management plan that identifies targeted materials and sets rates.
- Material Streams: At least three (LEED v4.1) or five (LEED v4) different material streams must be targeted for diversion, such as concrete, metals, wood, masonry, and cardboard.
- Tracking and Reporting: Contractors must track and report the amount of waste diverted from landfills versus that which is disposed, using either weight or volume as measurements.
- Source Reduction: LEED also recognizes source reduction—eliminating waste before it is generated through design choices, prefabrication, or modular construction.
- LEED v5: This latest version builds on v4 by requiring even greater waste diversion rates, more comprehensive audits, and innovative strategies to minimize landfill contributions.
