McDonald, B and Smithers, M (1998) Implementing a waste management plan during the construction phase of a project: A case study. Construction Management and Economics, 16(1), pp. 71-78. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
The construction industry in Australia contributes approximately 15%, by volume, of all solid waste disposed in landfills each year. Similar volumes have been recorded in other countries. The Australian government, in common with many other countries, has legislation in place to reduce landfill requirements by 50% by the year 2000. As part of this programme an Australian division of a multinational construction company has developed a company policy with the aim of managing waste generated on site and, thereby, reducing the amount deposited in landfill sites. The programme has been supported by the Victorian Recycling and Resource Recovery Council. The first implementation of this policy was at the Dandenong Police and Court Complex in Melbourne. The effects of the programme have been compared against a similar project built concurrently. The results of the trial revealed substantial savings. A total volume of 15% less waste was generated on site prior to recycling and 43% less waste went to landfill. Cost savings of 50% were made in terms of waste handling charges. The savings resulted almost entirely from site based strategies for handling waste.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | audit; landfill; recycling; waste |
| Index terms: | strategy, programme, resource recovery, legislation, landfill, waste management, recycling, audit, Australia, savings, case study, multinational construction company, implementation, construction industry, construction phase, cost saving |
| Subjects: | performance measurement, management, economics, Geography, project controls, industry analysis, strategic management, data collection methods, waste management, contractual arrangements, legal systems, economic analysis, project delivery |
| Topics: | Time Control, Legal Issues, International Construction, Quality Management, Sustainability, Procurement, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Geographical Context, 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