A waste management system for construction companies

Construction and demolition waste comes from a range of construction activities including new constructions, renovations and demolitions and usually is a major source of urban waste. The large amounts of construction and demolition waste creates a challenge to sustainable urban development in almost all large cities in both developed and developing countries/regions. A review of construction waste management instruments in a number of countries indicates that (1) the emphasis of waste management instruments shifts from the end of construction waste management chain to the start of the chain; (2) the instruments tend to internalize the externalities by incorporating life-cycle thinking; and (3) more and more financial instruments are adopted to address construction waste. Construction companies produce construction waste and should manage it in a sustainable way. This study draws experience and lessons from international construction waste management practices in order to develop a workable construction waste management system for construction companies. A preliminary construction waste management system is developed integrating five major functions: construction waste estimation, construction material requirements estimation, legal and regulatory constraints, construction waste treatment methods, and construction waste utilization optimization.