Track: Waste Management

Abstract

Construction industry being the largest industry, it generates huge amount of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste. Generation of C&D waste leads to issues related to environmental pollution, adverse health issues, economic issues, social issues and undesirable landfill creation. Moreover, for the C&D waste management, strategies like 3R concept (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), and waste hierarchy are being followed in the construction industry. Although such strategies are being followed to manage the C&D waste, management of C&D waste is still in a primary stage. In order to eliminate C&D waste, Zero waste concept has emerged as a potential solution. Zero waste means the elimination of waste through redesigning of the product lifecycle. To implement zero waste concept in the construction industry, strategies like eco design, industrial symbiosis, closed loop supply chain management, innovative technology, product stewardship, life cycle assessment, and environmental management system (EMS) are being used. Although, several benefits are available when adopting zero waste concept to the construction industry, limited studies are available on zero waste management in the construction industry. Therefore, this paper aims to review the available strategies to implement zero waste concept in the construction industry by critically reviewing the secondary data on waste management studies conducted in the construction industry.

Keywords :

Construction Industry, Construction and Demolition Waste, Strategies, Zero Waste