Factors affecting construction waste management streams in Australia

Abstract

Construction and Demolition Waste (C&DW) represents a significant proportion of industrial waste going to landfill. The aim of this research was to determine the current factors affecting C&DW management on construction sites in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. In order to achieve this aim, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 C&D practitioners and stakeholders, interview data were analysed using Nvivo software. Key factors that underlined waste management processes on construction sites were identified. These include; identifying economic values of diverted material, potential for onsite sorting, knowledge, experience and training of site operatives, a need for tenders to include accurate predictions of waste management costs and the identification of improved methods of C&DW collection and disposal. This research reveals the key factors identified by the industry specialists in NSW that would potentially hinder C&DW management targets. Accordingly, the findings are valuable to managers and environmental stakeholders concerned with C&DW management.

Keywords:

• Waste management
• supply chain management
• construction management
• demolition
• Australia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors of the paper acknowledge the generous support of the NSW Environmental Trust. Without their financial support, the research project reported herein would not have been possible.