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Waste management practices in the small-scale construction industry

Waste management practices in the small-scale construction industry
Waste management practices in the small-scale construction industry
The environmental impacts of the construction industry can be reduced through sustainable waste management (SWM). A substantial proportion of the responsibility for improving waste management practices in the construction industry falls on small-scale construction (SSC) firms operating on projects valued under £300,000. Through on-site waste audits and a postal questionnaire survey of SSC firms, we investigated key factors that affect waste generation on SSC sites. The study found a deep-rooted wasteful culture within the SSC industry. Soil and stones, wood and plastic were the major components of the waste stream. It is perceived that a considerable proportion of waste generated is unavoidable because of current working practices. SWM activities were undertaken infrequently by the majority of respondents, with the main reason being a commonly-held perception that SWM is not cost-effective. Considerable scope exists for improving waste management practices on SSC sites, with the most promising measures identified as being the introduction of stock control measures and the use of skips for segregation of specific materials.
978-88-6265-000-7
CISA Publisher
Williams, I.D.
c9d674ac-ee69-4937-ab43-17e716266e22
Turner, David
39dc4dc8-88b4-4950-8bbd-c647ff110ec9
Williams, I.D.
c9d674ac-ee69-4937-ab43-17e716266e22
Turner, David
39dc4dc8-88b4-4950-8bbd-c647ff110ec9

Williams, I.D. and Turner, David (2011) Waste management practices in the small-scale construction industry. In Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium. S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. CISA Publisher..

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

The environmental impacts of the construction industry can be reduced through sustainable waste management (SWM). A substantial proportion of the responsibility for improving waste management practices in the construction industry falls on small-scale construction (SSC) firms operating on projects valued under £300,000. Through on-site waste audits and a postal questionnaire survey of SSC firms, we investigated key factors that affect waste generation on SSC sites. The study found a deep-rooted wasteful culture within the SSC industry. Soil and stones, wood and plastic were the major components of the waste stream. It is perceived that a considerable proportion of waste generated is unavoidable because of current working practices. SWM activities were undertaken infrequently by the majority of respondents, with the main reason being a commonly-held perception that SWM is not cost-effective. Considerable scope exists for improving waste management practices on SSC sites, with the most promising measures identified as being the introduction of stock control measures and the use of skips for segregation of specific materials.

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More information

Published date: 2011
Venue - Dates: Thirteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium, Sardinia, Italy, 2011-10-03 - 2011-10-07
Organisations: Centre for Environmental Science

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 346322
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/346322
ISBN: 978-88-6265-000-7
PURE UUID: 2048e70c-2c86-4860-b399-2c4fb68a0a75
ORCID for I.D. Williams: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0121-1219

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 05 Feb 2013 15:10
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:22

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Contributors

Author: I.D. Williams ORCID iD
Author: David Turner

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