CESARE'24

Waste Generation Factors, Impacts, and Waste Minimization in Construction

Not scheduled

20m

Speaker

Saud Alotaibi (University of Birmingham)

Description

The consistent growth of the construction sector during the last decades is responsible for generating a massive amount of waste that severely impacts the environment. Globally, construction activities generate annually around 30% of the overall waste, and the numbers are expected to increase due to population growth projections and the need for infrastructure developments. As a matter of fact the causes of waste (physical or non-physical) can be grouped into seven categories namely, design-related, procurement-related, human-related, handling and storage, site conditions, management-related, and due to other external factors, such as the effect of weather and accidents. In addition, the construction waste types are influenced by project type, size, and construction method. On the other hand, construction waste could lead to harmful ecological, financial, and societal impacts. The consequences of ill-managed waste tend to reflect on disposal cost increment, project schedule delay, overall cost overrun, unnecessary or excessive consumption of materials and energy, air and water pollution, public health and well-being. To mitigate such negative impacts, a plethora of practices have been recommended involving innovations for procurement, design, and construction. The present study scrutinises potential opportunities for the minimisation of construction waste and propose future sustainability enhancement related to construction activities.