Sustainable commercial junk removal services support projects and businesses in obtaining credits towards LEED Certification in several key areas. This helps them design, construct and operate buildings in an efficient and sustainable way.
LEED, (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), is a system that was developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). It serves as a framework through which businesses’ buildings and construction projects can measure their success in terms of environmental best-practice and sustainability.
Why Seek LEED Certification?
LEED Certification benefits businesses in many ways. It lowers costs, lowers carbon impact, and increases resilience. It looks good, attracting investors and pleasing stakeholders, as well as ensuring regulatory compliance.
Through reducing waste and boosting health and efficiencies, it boosts a brand’s reputation and gives companies an edge in competitive marketplaces.
Obtaining LEED Certification
To obtain Leed Certification, projects must earn credits across a number of categories. Commercial junk removal companies help in obtaining credits in several areas, most notably:
- Materials and Resources (MR Credits)
- Sustainable Sites (SS Credits)
They may also help in:
- Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ Credits)
- Energy and Atmosphere (EA Credits)
- Innovation (IN Credits)
LEED Credits in Materials and Resources (MR)
Junk removal specialists can play a crucial role in managing materials and resources, potentially allowing projects to gain credits in the following categories:
Construction and Demolition Waste Management
In this area of LEED Certification, the goal is to keep as much waste from landfill as possible. This is the primary way in which a junk removal firm can help obtain credits, and arguably the most important.
Junk removal companies can identify, sort and divert waste away from landfill through reuse, repurposing, and recycling. Using their expertise can mean a much higher diversion rate than those trying to do it alone.
They can also help to document waste diversion, and provide waste tracking reports for LEED Certification.
With a 50% reduction in waste heading to landfill, one LEED point can be obtained. Two points can be obtained for a 75% reduction.
Building Life-Cycle Impact Reduction
Up to a further five points can be obtained for the recovery and reuse of building materials during a construction or renovation project.
A good junk removal company should be able to maximize potential to salvage materials through careful deconstruction rather than hasty demolition. They should also be able to provide documentation showing the percentage of materials salvaged and reused throughout the project.
Sourcing of Raw Materials (Reuse and Recycling)
The way in which a sustainable junk removal company can potentially salvage materials such as structural elements, floors, windows, and doors for reuse can also help the project itself to use a higher proportion of these reclaimed/ recycled materials for construction or renovation.
Rather than buying new, reclaimed, repurposed and recycled materials can be used. The assistance of a junk removal company can increase the proportion of reuse within a project substantially, with potential for 1-2 more LEED points.
Furniture and Furnishings Reuse for Commercial Interiors
Another couple of LEED points relevant to commercial interiors are given for the reuse of furniture and furnishings. The goal is to use old items to reduce consumption.
Junk removal specialists can help businesses identify furniture suited for reuse or upcycling, donation or sale, while properly recycling furniture elements no longer of use.
LEED Sustainable Sites (SS) Credits
The sustainable sites category of LEED Certification is another area where the role of a sustainable junk removal company is clear.
One LEED point is available for the creation of a responsible waste management plan for a construction site. The goal, of course, being to minimize the waste and pollution that comes from building activities.
A junk removal firm can of course come in and promptly clear a site, preventing damage to the local environment and keeping soil and water quality intact. They may also use eco-friendly methods of haulage, and be able to help to document efforts taken to reduce waste and pollution on sites.
LEED Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Credits
By helping to manage materials and pollutants carefully during construction or renovation, junk removal specialists can also help in obtaining a further 1-2 LEED points for maintaining healthy air quality indoors.
Junk removal services might include, for example, getting rid of hazardous materials like asbestos, mold-contaminated materials, or heavy metals. By removing building materials promptly and carefully, dust and particulates in the air can also be kept to a minimum.
LEED Credits in Energy and Atmosphere (EA)
Waste management services offered by commercial junk removal companies can also potentially help indirectly to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency.
Junk removal services can aid in reducing consumption and its associated emissions, and can also help cut down on the emissions associated with recycling and other forms of waste management by diverting materials and items for reuse, donation or resale.
LEED Innovation (IN) Credits for Exceptional Efforts
The innovation credits in LEED Certification are for projects or companies who go above and beyond in their sustainability efforts – setting the bar higher and doing even more.
There may be up to five LEED points available for those who implement innovative waste management solutions with the help of a sustainable commercial junk removal company.
For example, there may be potential to work with other third-party certifications, such as Green Business Certification to go further than the norm.
Zero waste strategies from design, through construction and operation, can potentially help to divert over 90% of waste from landfill.
Innovative uses of AI and smart waste tracking systems might also improve results even further and mark out your project or company as the cream of the crop.
There are other areas of LEED Certification, of course, for which junk removal services are not strictly relevant, such as integrative process, location and transportation, and water efficiency (though in the last of these waste management may actually have a small role to play). Waste management may or may not have a role in further regional priority credits, which vary by location.
By aligning with the specific LEED credit categories mentioned above, however, commercial junk removal services directly support green building standards and promote sustainable practices in construction and renovation. These are essential services for companies and projects seeking to obtain the many benefits LEED Certification will bring.
