Buser, M and Bosch-Sijtsema, P (2018) Attributing value to waste: The difficult road to efficient waste management for renovation projects. In: Gorse, C and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 34th Annual ARCOM Conference, 3-5 September 2018, Queen’s University, Belfast, UK.
Abstract
The focus on sustainability has pressed the construction sector to process and optimise Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) activities. The collection and recycling of waste, in particular hazardous waste, has received a considerable amount of attention. The life cycle of various products and material is also well documented and many models are aiming at optimising the supply chain and logistic processes. However, whereas the processes of new built seem to be under control in the Swedish context, the handling of renovation and demolition waste traditionally considered as low value work, is still lacking behind. Moreover, the different actors included in this process tend to attribute to each other the responsibility of this situation. In this context, we are interested in how the actors shape their understanding of waste in the different phases of a renovation project. To do so, we build on the concept of value as defined by Callon which enables us to appreciate the creation of value as the result of a direct interactions in delivery activities and analyse these processes as socially shaped and consequently open to possible changes.Drawing on a three years multidisciplinary project bringing together practitioners and academics in CDW and aiming at improving the sector practices, we focus here on the case study of a renovation project to illustrate the various interpretations and translations of value. We gather observations on site and interviews with all the actors involved: client, architect, contractor, sub-contractors, workers on site and future users.The preliminary results point at a diversity of understanding of what value is for the different actors sometimes even contradicting each other, which may jeopardise the expected results for CDW management. The concept of value helps us to analyse the shaping of these understandings and consequently may contribute to the improvement of the CDW processes.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | management; renovation project; value; waste |
| Index terms: | case study, interview, recycling, drawing, life cycle, construction and demolition, architect, practitioner, waste management, sub-contractor, renovation, interaction, construction sector, demolition waste |
| Subjects: | renovation and retrofit, industry analysis, behavioral psychology, data collection methods, profession, waste management, value management, practitioner, technical documentation |
| Topics: | Design Practice, Sustainability, Roles and Professions, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here