LEED Solid Waste Management: How Waste Reporting Works in LEED v5
LEED waste management is now scored on measured performance. Under LEED v5 for Operations and Maintenance (O+M), a building earns points based on the share of its waste kept out of landfills and incinerators over a 12-month reporting period.
This guide explains how that diversion rate is calculated, which strategies earn an extra point, and how e-waste, batteries, and lamps are treated.
**Updated September 2026. Based on the LEED v5 O+M rating system, July 2026 addenda.
What Is LEED?
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Projects earn points across categories such as energy, water, materials, and indoor air quality. Higher point totals lead to higher certification levels.
Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) reviews applications and awards certification.
LEED v5 is the current version. USGBC members ratified it on March 28, 2025, and it organizes every credit around three impact areas: decarbonization, quality of life, and ecological conservation and restoration.
New buildings use Building Design and Construction (BD+C). Tenant fit-outs use Interior Design and Construction (ID+C). Buildings already in operation use O+M: Existing Buildings, which is the focus of this guide.
Where Solid Waste Fits in LEED v5
Waste sits in the Materials and Resources (MR) category. For existing buildings, that category contains two credits and nothing else. Together they make waste one of the larger point opportunities in LEED O+M, behind only energy, indoor environmental quality, and water.
MRc1
Waste Reduction Performance
Points scale with the building's measured diversion rate.
MRc2
Waste Reduction Strategies
One program-based strategy, chosen from three options.
Waste also appears in a prerequisite. Every O+M project must complete an Operations Assessment and Policy, which requires a sustainable operations policy covering the purchasing of ongoing consumables and durable goods, plus waste diversion during renovation and maintenance work.
How LEED Waste Reduction Performance Is Scored
MRc1 rewards diversion: keeping materials out of landfills, incinerators, and any other disposal method. Waste prevention, reuse, recycling, and composting all count.
Waste-to-energy incineration does not. Burning waste for power is treated as disposal.
Points for Waste Diversion
The scale starts low on purpose. A modest recycling program can earn a point, while the top of the scale rewards near-zero-waste operations.
Enter both weights to estimate your points.
How to calculate your diversion rate
"Diverted" includes every material that was prevented, reused, recycled, or composted. Both weights must cover the same reporting period.
Tracking Requirements
- Track waste for at least three consecutive months within the 12-month reporting period.
- Record the material type and weight of all nonhazardous solid materials each month.
- State the diversion method for each diverted material, such as reuse, recycling, or composting.
- Account for seasonal or intermittent streams, such as a yearly furniture cleanout.
- Show the method and sources behind any estimates. Standard volume-to-weight conversions are allowed when actual weights aren't available.
Accurate weights make the calculation easier to defend. Hauler invoices, scale tickets, and recycler weight reports are the most common sources.
The Waste Reduction Strategies Point
MRc2 is worth one point. Buildings earn it by completing any one of three options during the reporting period.
Organics recycling
Start a composting or organics program, supported by training and signage to keep contamination down. Buildings that already compost can qualify by adding a separate new stream, such as landscape clippings alongside existing food-scrap collection.
Collection management and education
Inventory and label every container by stream. Right-size containers and pickup schedules, and review them with service providers. Train employees, contractors, and vendors, and assign one staff person to lead waste prevention.
Zero-waste audit
Audit all materials entering and leaving the building at least once during the reporting period, then analyze the results. An audit also shows where diversion points are being lost, which feeds directly back into MRc1.
Any one option earns the point. Completing more than one does not add points.
E-Waste, Batteries, and Lamps in LEED v5
How LEED treats electronic waste depends on the rating system, and on whether you’re asking about requirements or points.
New construction (Required)
The BD+C Planning for Zero Waste Operations prerequisite requires collection for all batteries, mercury-containing lamps, and e-waste. LEED v4 required only two of the three. New buildings must also plan space for organics.
Existing buildings (Policy Only)
LEED v5 O+M has no dedicated e-waste credit. Electronics fall under the durable goods portion of the required operations policy, and hazardous waste handling appears in the worker safety credit.
Your diversion rate (Not Calculated)
MRc1 covers only nonhazardous solid materials. In California, most discarded electronics, batteries, and fluorescent lamps are regulated as universal waste, a hazardous waste category, so they fall outside that calculation.
Responsible handling still matters. California law keeps electronics out of landfills, and a documented recycling process supports the operations policy every O+M project must maintain. Since January 1, 2026, California’s Covered Electronic Waste Recycling Program also includes battery-embedded products under Senate Bill 1215. For background on what improper disposal causes, see the harmful effects of e-waste.
If a recycler handles your electronics, ask for documentation. GreenCitizen provides weight reports and certificates of recycling on request.
LEED Certification Levels and Points
Certified
40 to 49 points
Silver
50 to 59 points
Gold
60 to 79 points
Platinum
80+ points, plus the requirements below
Platinum Needs More than Points
In LEED v5 O+M, a Platinum building must also meet four energy and carbon minimums:
- At least 7 points in Optimized Energy Performance
- At least 2 points in the low operational emissions option of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Performance
- At least 2 points in that credit’s energy use emissions reduction options
- 2 points in Decarbonization and Efficiency Plans
Every Building Has an Energy Floor
One way to meet the Minimum Energy Performance prerequisite is an ENERGY STAR score of at least 60 during the reporting period. Waste points can move a building between levels, but they can’t substitute for the energy requirements at the top tier.
How to Get LEED Certified for an Existing Building
O+M certification follows the same six steps for every existing building. Fees for LEED v5 are the same as for earlier versions; check USGBC’s fee schedule for current rates.
Confirm eligibility
O+M applies to whole buildings that are fully operational and occupied.
Register the project in Arc
LEED v5 registration, credit forms, and applications all run through GBCI's Arc platform.
Set your 12-month reporting period
Energy, water, and waste performance are all measured across the same 12 months.
Complete the prerequisites
These include the climate resilience assessment, the operations assessment and policy, and metering requirements.
Track data and document credits
Upload performance data and supporting documents for each credit you're pursuing.
Submit for review
GBCI reviews the application and issues a certification decision.
How Long LEED O+M Certification Lasts
A LEED v5 O+M certification expires three years after it is awarded. Unlike design and construction certifications, it has to be renewed.
Recertification uses the same 12-month approach: at a minimum, projects submit their most recent 12 months of energy, water, and required refrigerant leakage data in Arc. Buildings certified under any earlier version of BD+C or O+M can recertify under v5. A building that keeps its waste records current can document MRc1 again without rebuilding its data.
LEED v4 vs. LEED v5: What Changed for Waste
| Topic | LEED v4 O+M | LEED v5 O+M |
|---|---|---|
| Waste credit | Solid Waste Management: Ongoing | Waste Reduction Performance |
| Points for ongoing waste | 2 | 1 to 12 |
| Scoring basis | Fixed targets: 50% of ongoing consumables and 75% of durable goods | Sliding scale from 6% to 80% total diversion |
| Batteries and lamps | Required collection and safe disposal | Addressed through policy; excluded from the diversion calculation |
| Extra waste point | Exemplary performance | Waste Reduction Strategies (organics, collection management, or zero-waste audit) |
| Certification term | Up to 5 years | 3 years |
Teams can still choose the older version for now. Starting July 1, 2027, LEED v5 becomes the only version available for new commercial BD+C, ID+C, and O+M registrations.
Is LEED Certification Worth It?
For owners, the clearest measurable return is rent. A CBRE analysis of 20,600 U.S. office buildings found that LEED-certified buildings commanded an average rent premium of 4% between 2019 and 2022, at the low end of a historical range of 4% to 8%.
LEED O+M adds a second benefit. Because v5 scores measured performance, the process produces a year of verified energy, water, and waste data.
That data is useful for ESG reporting, building performance standards, and tenant questions, whether or not the building pursues every available point.
Sources
- U.S. Green Building Council, LEED v5 Rating System: Operations and Maintenance, July 2026 edition
- U.S. Green Building Council, LEED BD+C v4 to v5 Summary of Changes
- U.S. Green Building Council, LEED v5 Recertification Guidance, October 2025
- USGBC Help Center, “LEED v5,” updated May 28, 2026
- CalRecycle, SB 1215 Covered Battery-Embedded Products
- CBRE, LEED-certified office rent premium analysis, 2023