Understand how using recycled materials in green buildings minimizes the need for landfills and contributes to LEED certification objectives. Detailed answer and explanation from LEED exam experts.
Table of Contents
Question
Utilizing recycled materials achieves the green building objective of
A. promoting the use of virgin materials and resources
B. minimizing the need for landfills
C. increasing demand for products extracted and manufactured within the region
D. encouraging environmentally responsible forest management
Answer
B. minimizing the need for landfills
Explanation
Utilizing recycled materials achieves the green building objective of minimizing the need for landfills. Recycled materials are materials that have been recovered or diverted from the waste stream and processed into new products or materials.
Utilizing recycled materials can reduce the amount of waste that is sent to landfills or incinerators, which can have negative impacts on the environment, such as occupying valuable land, contaminating soil and water, and emitting harmful gases. Utilizing recycled materials can also save natural resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, and lower disposal costs.
Utilizing recycled materials is an important green building strategy that supports several key objectives of the USGBC LEED rating system. By incorporating recycled content into building materials and products, it reduces the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.
When materials such as metals, plastics, glass, and wood are recycled and remanufactured into new building products, it diverts these materials from the waste stream and landfills. This both minimizes the growing pressure on landfill space and reduces the environmental impacts associated with waste disposal, such as greenhouse gas emissions from decomposition.
Using recycled materials also decreases the demand for extraction and processing of raw virgin materials, which conserves natural resources. However, it does not necessarily promote the use of virgin materials as suggested in option A.
While incorporating recycled materials is environmentally beneficial, it does not directly increase demand for regionally extracted and manufactured products as described in option C. That is a separate green building strategy.
Finally, using recycled materials is not primarily focused on encouraging environmentally responsible forest management (option D). Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood products contribute to that objective.
In summary, utilizing recycled materials is a key way that green buildings minimize waste and the need for landfill space. This is one of the important environmental objectives rewarded in the LEED rating system for sustainable buildings.
USGBC LEED Green Associate certification exam practice question and answer (Q&A) dump with detail explanation and reference available free, helpful to pass the USGBC LEED Green Associate exam and earn USGBC LEED Green Associate certification.