Waste Prevention and Reuse

Green Building

Current work Additional work Prior research

Additional resources Contact

DEQ’s Green Building Program focuses on researching and increasing the adoption of waste prevention practices in residential construction. Waste prevention refers to the “reduce, reuse” part of “reduce, reuse, recycle.” This page summarizes DEQ’s current and recent work in this field.

Current work

• Space-Efficient Housing Workgroup – DEQ coordinates this diverse workgroup of stakeholders aimed at increasing the supply and demand for space-efficient single-family housing forms including accessory dwelling units, cottage clusters and density-driven remodels.
• Dwell Small | Live Large – a one-day summit to be held in Portland during October 2012. DEQ will assist in developing this conference, organized by the Space-Efficient Housing Workgroup. More info coming soon on the Cascadia Region Green Building Council website (link below).
• Another project of the Space-Efficient Housing Workgroup is www.accessorydwellings.org. This site serves as a one-stop source about accessory dwelling units.
  • Visit the site and share your story.
• Researching the life cycle energy and material-related impacts of accessory dwelling units (less than 800 square feet). This project is an extension of DEQ’s building-related life cycle analysis listed below.
• Presentations on DEQ’s space-efficient housing efforts and its LCA-based research. See presentation section below some general presentations.

Additional work about space-efficient housing

DEQ research shows that reducing house size is the most effective way to reduce both material and energy-related impacts of residential homes. The work below represents DEQ’s efforts toward having the residential construction field recognize home size reduction as an effective green building strategy.

• Oregon REACH code
  This statewide optional building code aims to keep the state’s design and construction industry at the forefront of high-performance building by providing both a preview of measures likely to be considered in the next mandatory building code and also a testing ground for innovative design and new technology. DEQ worked with stakeholders to incorporate size-based tiers into the residential REACH code. These tiers require larger homes to be more energy efficient while encouraging construction of smaller homes. Washington State’s mandatory residential energy code uses a similar tier structure.
• Earth Advantage Institute
  As Oregon’s leading green building certification program, Earth Advantage Institute, a non-profit organization, partnered with DEQ on research and used the results to help inform revision of its rating system for new homes. Most notable was the dramatic increase in the number of points allotted to smaller homes. Previously, home size reduction was not given credit commensurate with its environmental benefit.
• Energy Trust of Oregon
  This non-profit organization provides incentives for energy-efficient new construction practices as well as retrofits on existing homes. It recently recognized the energy saving benefits of detached accessory dwelling units by allowing full-scale “new home” incentives to be applied to units.
• GreenPoint Rated
  This California based nonprofit administers a labeling and certification program for new and existing homes. Its program already accounts for home size as a function of operational energy consumption. The group is now using DEQ research to inform the material-related impacts of different size homes based on embodied energy and greenhouse gas emissions from material production.

Prior research

As part of implementing its Waste Prevention Strategy, DEQ completed a study evaluating environmental benefits of several residential building and design practices that are intended to prevent solid waste by either using less material or reusing materials over a home’s lifespan. Besides solid waste prevention, DEQ evaluated other environmental benefits of each practice, such as greenhouse gas reductions through material savings and operational energy conservation, toxic emission reductions, and a range of other human health and ecosystem quality-related benefits.

The research identified which practices have the biggest environmental benefit over the life of a residential home. The results inform and support decisions by DEQ and others to form programs, policies and actions to prevent waste generation from the residential building sector in a way that maximizes overall environmental benefits.

• Visit DEQ's Waste Prevention Strategy page.

Reports

A Life Cycle Approach to Prioritizing Methods of Preventing Waste from the Residential Construction Sector in the State of Oregon

Final Report (Phase 2)

• Executive Summary only PDF
• Report only PDF (5.4MB, 212 pages)
• Appendices (3-14) XLS
• Appendix 17 PDF
• Key findings

Phase 1 Report

• Report only PDF
• Appendix 2: Report Cards only PDF (3.4MB)
• Appendices (7-16) only XLS

Additional resources

DEQ‘s Green Building Program is focused on researching and increasing the adoption of waste prevention practices in residential construction. Since the program is not a comprehensive green building program, DEQ offers the following links for those seeking more information on green building:

• City of Portland’s Green Building Resource Center
• Oregon Department of Energy’s High Performance Home
• Cascadia Region Green Building Council
• International Living Building Institute
• Energy Trust of Oregon
• Earth Advantage
• Northwest EcoBuilding Guild
• Lifecycle Building Challenge
• Oregon Home Builders Association

Contact:

Jordan Palmeri, Science and Policy Analyst
Green Building Program
503-229-6766
or  .

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