Measuring material wastage on construction sites: a case study of local authority highway projects

The construction industry in the UK is vast. It is one of the largest sectors of the economy with an output of over £100 billion, representing approximately 8% of the country’s GDP. The enormous amount of resources the industry consumes and produces coupled with the large number of construction companies in the market place has resulted in a growing awareness of the environmental impact of the construction industry. Construction produces more than 100 million tonnes of waste a year, representing more than 50% of the total waste production of the country. Of this waste, more than 60 million tonnes goes straight to landfill, three times more than all the domestic waste produced by the UK’s twenty one million homes. Increasing pressure on landfill sites coupled with the growing awareness of the environmental impact of the industry has made the minimisation of construction waste absolutely essential. The research project outlined in this paper attempts to measure material wastage occurring on selected Local Authority highway construction sites. To achieve this, a review will be undertaken to determine the main areas of interest in sustainable construction, construction waste production, and waste minimisation. Primary data will be collected in the form of measurements taken of theoretical and actual quantities of construction materials used during the course of selected highway projects. The results will be used to compare actual on-site material quantities against theoretical material quantities. The difference in these quantities will then be calculated, giving the amount of wastage occurring on site. The findings from this paper are drawn from both the secondary and the primary data analysis and statistical testing. The research concludes by suggesting a waste minimisation strategy for use on highway construction sites to try and reduce, re-use, and recycle the amount of construction waste local authority highway projects generate

Mapping approach for examining waste management within construction sites

In light of increased awareness on environmental impacts from construction wastes, waste management has become an important factor in construction project management. Various waste managements have been developed by researchers to manage construction wastes. Nevertheless, less attention is given towards the management of waste handling processes on construction sites such as waste sorting and waste transport. In fact, proper flow of these processes could improve waste management effectiveness. The aim of the study is to examine waste handling process during construction through the mapping of ten project sites in Melaka using the free-flow mapping presentation technique. This will lead to the development of a proposed waste management mapping model (WMMM), which incorporates the good operations embodied in the existing practices and also the outcomes of interviews with the project proponents. The WMMM could serve as a tool assisting in planning waste management procedures as well as a vehicle for comparing waste management practices among construction sites; thus, weaknesses and good practices could be identified and improvement measures may be implemented accordingly. Personal interviews with questionnaires and on site observations were administered for data collection. Analysis was performed on results tabulated in matrix table with interpretation assisted by statistical computations. Qualitative approach was of dominant where comparative evaluation was extensively performed on the waste management practices between these ten sites. Findings revealed that the advantages of waste handling practices outnumbered the weaknesses. The WMMM was proposed based on guidelines derived from the analysis which took into account factors pertaining to cost, environmental protection and time in waste handling management. It was suggested that the proposed WMMM could be incorporated into the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report to assist waste management planning. Overall, the findings of the study have contributed to the basic understanding of the waste management practices within construction sites in Malaysi

Causative factors of construction and demolition waste generation in Iraq Construction Industry

The construction industry has hurt the environment from the waste generated during construction activities. Thus, it calls for serious measures to determine the causative factors of construction waste generated. There are limited studies on factors causing construction, and demolition (C&D) waste generation, and these limited studies only focused on the quantification of construction waste. This study took the opportunity to identify the causative factors for the C&D waste generation and also to determine the risk level of each causal factor, and the most important minimization methods to avoiding generating waste. This study was carried out based on the quantitative approach. A total of 39 factors that causes construction waste generation that has been identified from the literature review were considered which were then clustered into 4 groups. Improved questionnaire surveys by 38 construction experts (consultants, contractors and clients) during the pilot study. The actual survey was conducted with a total of 380 questionnaires, received with a response rate of 83.3%. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software. Ranking analysis using the mean score approach found the five most significant causative factors which are poor site management, poor planning, lack of experience, rework and poor controlling. The result also indicated that the majority of the identified factors having a high-risk level, in addition, the better minimization method is environmental awareness. A structural model was developed based on the 4 groups of causative factors using the Partial Least Squared-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. It was found that the model fits due to the goodness of fit (GOF ≥ 0.36= 0.658, substantial). Based on the outcome of this study, 39 factors were relevant to the generation of construction and demolition waste in Iraq. These groups of factors should be avoided during construction works to reduce the waste generated. The findings of this study are helpful to authorities and stakeholders in formulating laws and regulations. Furthermore, it provides opportunities for future researchers to conduct additional research’s on the factors that contribute to construction waste generation

Fine recycled concrete aggregate as a material replacement in concrete production

As a fast and rapid growing nation, Malaysia undergoes a lot of development especially in construction field. Most of the building nowadays are being made mainly using concrete as it provides many favorable features such as satisfactory compressive strength, durability, availability, versatility and cost effectiveness. However, in pursuing the development era, sometimes the authorities overlooked about the construction and demolition (C&D) waste that had been created along the development progress. Construction and demolition waste is becoming a vital issue especially to the environmental aspect in many large cities in the world (Chen et al., 2002). Shen [1] describe C&D waste as the waste which generated from renovation, site clearing, demolition, construction, roadwork, land excavation and civil and building construction. Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste constitutes a major portion of total solid waste production in the world, and most of it is used in landfills .

Legal Aspects which Implement Good Practice Measures in the Management of Construction and Demolition Waste

The construction industry, one of the most important ones in the development of a country, generates unavoidable impacts on the environment. The social demand towards greater respect for the environment is a high and general outcry. Therefore, the construction industry needs to reduce the impact it produces. Proper waste management is not enough; we must take a further step in environmental management, where new measures need to be introduced for the prevention at source, such as good practices to promote recycling. Following the amendment of the legal frame applicable to Construction and Demolition Waste (C&D waste), important developments have been incorporated in European and International laws, aiming to promote the culture of reusing and recycling. This change of mindset, that is progressively taking place in society, is allowing for the consideration of C&D waste no longer as an unusable waste, but as a reusable material. The main objective of the work presented in this paper is to enhance C&D waste management systems through the development of preventive measures during the construction process. These measures concern all the agents intervening in the construction process as only the personal implication of all of them can ensure an efficient management of the C&D waste generated. Finally, a model based on preventive measures achieves organizational cohesion between the different stages of the construction process, as well as promoting the conservation of raw materials through the use and waste minimization. All of these in order to achieve a C&D waste management system, whose primary goal is zero waste generatio

Simulation and comparative analysis of waste in concrete slabs

Construction sector generates significant amounts of waste that affects the environment and obstructs a sustainable development. The horizontal structure (slabs and roofs) is one of the building elements, by its functional requirement (geometry and layout) and volume, who uses more raw material for its constitution (potential generators of waste) On the other hand, the choice of the system to use, is typically based on criteria such as the ease of construction, the economy availability or the technological feasibility; so, from a sustainable perspective, the generation of waste has not been considered or evaluated. This work compares and analyzes four different common elements used in slabs and the possible generation of waste produced for the construction and eventual demolition of them, in order to provide a new weighting criterion in the choice.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Evaluasi Construction Waste Dalam Pekerjaan Kolom Pada Proyek Konstruksi Gedung

UNDIP telah diakui sebagai salah satu perguruan tinggi ternama di Indonesia. Hal ini semakin mendorong UNDIP untuk selalu meningkatkan kualitasnya. Berdasarkan kondisi UNDIP saat ini, mobilisasi akses keluar masuk UNDIP Tembalang meningkat secara signifikan yang mengakibatkan kemacetan di ruas jalan Prof. Soedarto. Hal ini perlu diimbangi dengan penyediaan jalan, sehingga dilakukan perencanaan jalan alternatif menuju kampus UNDIP Tembalang melalui Jalan Sapta Marga. Perencanaan jalan alternatif ini direncanakan dengan panjang jalan 2,605 km, yaitu dimulai dari STA 0+000 di simpang Fakultas Ekonomika dan Bisnis dan berakhir di STA 2+605 di simpang Jalan Jangli Perbalan Raya. Direncanakan jalur lalu lintas 2 lajur-2 arah tak terbagi (2/2 UD), lebar lajur 3 m, bahu jalan tanpa trotoar 1-2 meter dan dengan ada trotoar 0,25 meter, saluran samping 1 m, kecepatan rencana 30 km/jam, kelandaian memanjang maksimum 10 %, jumlah lengkung horizontal 7 buah dan lengkung vertikal 15 buah. Perkerasan yang digunakan adalah perkerasan lentur meliputi lapis permukaan laston AC-WC 4 cm dan AC-BC 6 cm, lapis pondasi atas batu pecah kelas A 15 cm, lapis pondasi bawah sirtu kelas B 20 cm, nilai CBR lapangan 4,052. Terdapat lima seksi dalam perencanaan perkerasan jalan, yakni: seksi I pada STA 0+000 s.d STA 0+955 perkerasan jalan baru, seksi II pada STA 0+955 s.d 1+005 overlay pada jalan eksisting dan pelebaran badan jalan, seksi III pada STA 1+005 s.d 1+980 perkerasan jalan baru, seksi IV pada STA 1+980 s.d 2+605 overlay pada jalan eksisting dan pelebaran badan jalan, overlay lapis permukaan laston 6 cm. Proyek ini membutuhkan dana sebesar Rp 16.134.847.500,00 sudah termasuk PPN 10 %. Rencana waktu pelaksanaan kegiatan proyek ini adalah 20 (dua puluh) minggu atau 5 (lima) bulan

Construction waste management practices in Malaysia: an overview

The construction industry is one of the major wealth-generating industries and is seen as an elevated sector in the Malaysia economy. However, this activity has generated a significant amount of waste which is detrimental to the environment. The increasing amount of waste from construction projects has shown that construction waste management has not been practised effectively in Malaysia. Therefore, an overview of the composition of construction waste and existing waste management practices on construction sites in Malaysia are the highlights of this study. The findings can potentially be used to enhance the effectiveness of construction waste management in Malaysia and create awareness among contractors for a better alternative in managing the construction waste on-site. Current practices in the construction sector need to be analysed in order to enhance strategies so that improved and more sustainable design, development, operation and maintenance will be attained, leading to minimal waste