CONSTRUCTION WASTE REDUCTION

Supply Chain Partnering Impact on Construction Waste Reduction

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Overview

It is known that during the nineteenth and twentieth century civilisation has advanced significantly. The construction of buildings, roads, bridges, aqueducts and dams has, and still continues to triumph throughout this period. Architecture and civil engineering, which are the design and implementation of construction, serve the purpose of harnessing the forces of nature for the service of mankind. However, it has become apparent, that many environmental impacts arise from the physical existence and operation of the completed structures as well as from the processes of making it. The 'built environment' grows as the population increases and sometimes there is unnecessary use of land for building purposes, the demand for raw materials is probably greater than nature can supply and many of the processes used for construction pollute the environment.

More and more people become aware of the criticality of the situation and many actions have been taken for the conservation of the environment. There is a tendency for new structures to be effective and sustainable to perform essential functions, and land use, energy production and movement of people and goods are executed if they can be justified in the long term. The minimisation of the production waste, the efficient use of materials and the recycling of waste, is another way of conserving the environment and forms part of the principles of sustainable development.

The production of waste, whether it is household, agricultural, commercial and industrial is inevitable. It simply reflects the nature of society, in which modern day rubbish is impossible to escape from. Every year the countries of the modern world produce over 5billion tonnes of municipal and industrial solid waste. (OECD, 1993). The UK produces over 400 million tonnes of waste each year, (Cullingworth & Nadin, 1997). Most of this is agricultural, mining and quarrying waste. 'Much of the remainder is 'controlled waste', i.e., waste which is controlled by the provisions of Environmental Protection Act'. (Cullingworth & Nadin, 1997).

Devon produces about 1 tonne per household, every year. This constitutes to a total of 460 000 tonnes of waste created by 432 000 household. These figures are indicate that too much waste is being created, and so therefore there is an urgent need for effective waste management controls to be created at all levels.

In the UK, the recycling of construction and demolition wastes is constrained by factors that arise from regulation, financial conditions and user requirements. According to Humphreys and Partners, (1994), there are several statutory controls, such as permission and/or licences that are required before recycling starts. Furthermore, although local authorities support recycling, it may become difficult to obtain certain planning permissions. Sometimes the quality of the materials is poor, badly mixed and potentially contaminated. The financial returns of the recycling industry are quite low; therefore investment in processing plants is kept to a minimum. Also, there is not enough quality control; the sources of materials are generally not inspected and often there is ...