Construction waste: source identification, quantification and its management in housing projects

Abstract

Waste in construction is important not only from the perspective of productivity but also from the environmental considerations. Many times actual percentage of waste generation is much higher than envisaged initially causing needless utilization of resources. It means there is a plenty of scope for enhancing project productivity simply by taking waste out of construction. Disposing of waste is not the right solution. Many countries are facing the problem of scarcity of dumping yards and exhaust of landfill spaces forcing researchers to look for an alternate and efficient waste management system. The literature review is carried out to identify construction waste management techniques being used in the construction industry. An attempt is made in this paper to quantify concrete waste and locate causes of its generation in housing projects. Research study observations are derived from the data analysis of five building projects located in different cities of Maharashtra state in India. The average level of concrete waste is 4.7 % of the estimated quantity that is more than double the permissible standard of 2 %. Three approaches of waste minimization - waste as project management function, ARRRD and value chain are discussed giving the guideline to design waste management plan.