Adjei, S D; Ankrah, N A; Adukpo, S E; Ndekugri, I and Searle, D (2024) Factors influencing the extent of waste management on construction sites. In: Thomson, C (ed.) Proceedings of 40th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2024, London South Bank University, UK.
Abstract
The adoption of net-zero carbon goals and the increasing calls for sustainable management of waste, has resulted in construction companies developing diverse sustainable practices towards the reduction, reuse, and recycling of waste. Several factors influence the nature and adoption of such practices, and waste management on site. Adopting a multiple case study approach, this study investigates the factors influencing waste management practices on construction sites through interviews, documentary analysis and observations. The study suggests that, irrespective of the drivers of waste management, project specific factors such as: site space, approach of senior management towards waste; early involvement of contractors in the design process; incentives for site teams; identification of alternative use of materials; attitude of site teams; level of waste management education; level of planning at the front-end; type of technology adopted; and complexity of design forms are important determinants of waste management on projects. Whilst some of these factors are shaped by organisational policy, the vast majority are project specific in nature. This indicates that construction companies must be flexible and focus on empowering site teams to develop effective project specific strategies.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction and demolition waste; sustainable management; waste management; net-zero carbon goals |
| Index terms: | waste management, complexity, documentary analysis, determinant, design process, case study, sustainable practice, interview, construction company, construction and demolition, strategy, construction site, sustainable management, recycling |
| Subjects: | management, health safety and environment, sustainable practices, systems engineering, organization, risk assessment, data collection methods, design methods, waste management, work location, data science |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Risk Management, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Site Management, Design Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
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