Minimization of construction waste in Chennai

construction industry
Janani R., Ilango T., Atem Daau Atemagoot., Magai David Ngor
Department of Civil Engineering, , Vels Institute of Science, Technology and Advanced Studies (VISTAS),
Email: janani.se@velsuniv.ac.in, atemagoot@gmail.com, magairamsey@gmail.com

Abstract: Globally, the construction industry is one of the leading producers of solid waste. The need to manage and minimize
construction and demolition waste is fueled by the growing concern due to the adverse effects of man’s activities on the environment.
Wastage of construction materials, improper management at the site and low awareness of waste reduction are common in Indian
construction sites. With landfills becoming scarcer the need to reduce wastes generated at all stages and recycle construction and
demolition wastes is becoming increasingly relevant. This research assessed the knowledge of construction professionals in Chennai
about sustainable construction and waste management perception through a structured questionnaire survey that helped provide
empirical evidence on levels of significant contribution of waste minimization measures to waste reduction. Study has shown that
government legislation on wastes from construction sites were non-existent and the respondents considered other factors such as
training of workers, company waste management policy, financial reward and promotion as more helpful incentives to reduce waste.
Nearly half of the respondents did not have a policy on Material Waste Management. The paper scrutinizes the factors affecting waste
generation at all stages and gives remedial measures to be taken to curb this.

Key words: Construction and demolition wastes, construction waste management, Government legislation, reduce, Sustainable Construction.

1. INTRODUCTION

With increasing urbanization and economic growth, there has been a substantial increase in development projects and consequently leading
to the generation of C&D waste. Construction and demolition waste (C&D) is generated during construction, renovation and demolition of
buildings, roads, bridges, dams and utility plants. The construction industry involves different processes and utilizes huge quantities of resources.
These processes have severe impacts on the environment which according to Horsley (2003), occur over a variety of timescales from extraction
and processing of raw materials used in construction, through the duration of the construction process, the operation of the building, up to the
eventual demolition of the structure at the end of its operative life.
Infrastructural development is accompanied by construction, renovation and demolition of the buildings, roads, bridges, subways,
runways, flyover, factories and other similar construction projects. The waste generated mainly consists of inert and non-biodegradable materials
such as concrete, ceramic, plaster, metal, broken tiles, brick masonry etc. These wastes are heavy, having high density, very often occupy
considerable storage space at the site, on road sides or communal waste bin. Wastes from the construction or demolition of residential buildings;
finds its way into the nearby municipal bin, waste storage depots, making the municipal waste heavy and unsuitable for further treatment like
composting or energy recovery and incineration. The growing population in the country and requirement of land for other uses has reduced the
availability of land for waste disposal. At times the growth of vegetation prevents the infiltration of surface run off into the ground water table
and lead to high level of environmental imbalance. Re-utilization or recycling is an important strategy for management of such wastes.
Apart from mounting problems of waste management, other reasons which support adoption of reuse/recycling strategy are reduced extraction of
raw materials, reduced transportation cost, improved profits and reduced environmental impact. Above all, the first depleting reserves of
conventional natural aggregates have necessitated the use of recycling/reuse technology, in order to be able to conserve the conventional natural
aggregate for other important works.
Presently, awareness of resource-efficient construction practices is lacking in most countries. The excessive wastage of materials, improper
management on site and low awareness of the need for waste reduction are common in construction sites. It’s worth mentioning that some
countries have made considerable achievements to utilize the construction wastes in the past decades. The countries like U.K, USA, France,
Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Japan have succeeded in developing economically feasibility and technically viable technologies
to reduce, reuse and recycle the C&D waste up to 80 or 90%. These studies have demonstrated the possibility of using C&D waste to substitute
conventional materials. However least effort has been reported for the utilization in India.

1.1 INDIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Construction industry is one of the largest economic expenditure in India. According the eleventh five year plan, it is the second largest
economic activity after agriculture. The impact caused to the environment by Indian construction industry is also considerably large.
Construction industry consumes high volume of natural raw materials and products. It generates high employment opportunity. Based on an
analysis of the forward and backward linkages of construction, the effect of construction works on the economy is estimated to be immense.
Investments in construction sector accounts for nearly 11% of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The construction sector is expected to
continue to record a higher growth rate in the years to come due to the Government’s recent initiative to allow certain percent of foreign direct
investment in the real estate development related projects. Based on the studies done by Technology, Information, Forecasting and Assessment
Council-TIFAC (2000), the total construction works in the country for the five years during 2006-2011 has been estimated to be $847 billion.
From the cost analysis of various modes of expenses in Indian construction industry, it has been seen that the component of material cost
comprises nearly 40 to 60% of the project cost. The material waste generation is huge in monetary terms. Thus, cost saving potential for India is
expected to be millions of dollars by adopting suitable measures for waste management. This is essential for a development that is responsive to
the challenges of environmental sustainability, low carbon emission and minimal resource depletion.
In view of significant role of recycled construction material and technology in the development of urban infrastructure, Technology,
Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) have commissioned a techno-market survey on ‘Utilization of waste from
construction industry’.
Central Pollution Control Board has estimated current quantum of solid waste generation in India to the tune of 48 million tons per annum
of which the Construction industry accounts for 25%. Management of such high quantum of waste puts enormous pressure on solid waste
management system. Waste is generated at different stages of construction process. Waste during construction activity relates to excessive
cement mix or concrete left after work is over, rejection/demolition caused due to change in design or wrong workmanship etc. Estimated waste
generation during construction is 40 to 60kg. Per sq. m similarly, waste generation during renovation/repair work is estimated to be 40 to
50kg/sq. m. The highest contributor to waste generation is from wastes from demolition of buildings. Demolition of Pucca and Semi-Pucca
buildings, on an average generate 500 & 300kg/sq. m. of waste respectively.

1.2 Construction waste management

The practice of waste management for construction activities has been promoted with the aim of protecting the environment and the
recognition that the wastes from C&D works contribute significantly to the polluted environment (Shen et al, 2002, cited in Shen et al, 2004).
This increasing awareness of environmental impacts from construction wastes has led to the development of waste management as an important
function of construction project management (Shen et al 2004). There are several approaches to construction waste management. The process of
managing construction waste goes far beyond the disposal of the waste itself. It encompasses strategies to effectively utilize the construction
resources with a view of reducing the quantity of waste in the most effective manner. The most effective approach to management of
construction waste is dumping in landfill site; however decreasing landfill space has led to the increasing cost of landfill disposal to the
contractor (BIE.1993, cited in Lingard et al, 2000). Relatively large amount of materials is been wasted because of poor control on building sites
(Poon, et al, 2004). This has created the need for alternatives for waste prevention in initiatives to reduce, reuse or recycle waste produced which
are known as the 3Rs of construction waste management.
According to Coventry and Guthrie, (1998), there two fundamentals reasons for reducing, reusing and recycling waste; the economic
advantage and environmental advantages. The environmental advantages include the minimization the risk of immediate and future
environmental pollution and harm to human health while economic advantages include low project cost and profit maximization amongst others.

2. METHODOLOGY

The research work was carried out by administering well-structured questionnaire for a sample of the population for the study. The
respondents were all professionals in the construction industry, i.e. Project managers, architects, quantity surveyors, contractors, site engineers,
design engineers and senior planning engineer who were managing construction projects within Chennai. The questionnaires were prepared
through Google form and the link was sent to 100 professionals working on various construction projects in Chennai. The survey was available
for one month to allow sufficient time to generate maximum response. The goal was to reach at least 50 responses, though 42 construction
professionals completed the survey this is 42% of total survey sent out. The survey included demographic data and pointed questions to
determine the knowledge of the people working in the field related to waste management and sustainable construction. Once the survey was
closed, data analysis was started; conclusions and recommendations were developed accordingly.
Demographic information included respondent’s personal experience, the size of the company, qualification and current project that the
respondent’s company performs, then the survey tried to explore the knowledge of construction professionals with the term sustainable
construction and whether their company has a construction minimization policy. The second part of the questionnaire concentrated on the
reasons of supporting waste minimization and they were ask to rate factors for minimizing construction waste which they deemed essential,
willingness of various stakeholders towards construction waste minimization, barriers that impede waste minimization in construction projects,
benefits of construction waste minimization and they were ask to rate stages of construction it terms of waste generated. The last group of
questions was on project stages and essential factors affecting material waste on site at various stages of construction.

3. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.

3.1 Company profile

A total of 100 questionnaires were administered for the survey, of which 42 were returned with valid responses. This showed a response
rate of 42%. The respondents to the questionnaires had 36.4% of project managers, 13.6% of contractors, 13.6% of quantity surveyors, 5.2% of
architects, HR, site engineer, supervisor, design engineer, design manager, senior planning engineer

Chart 1 Respondent to the Questionnaire

From the results of the survey 56.5% are involved in residential buildings, 13% in commercial buildings, 13% in industrial buildings, 13%
in general infrastructure and the rest in educational buildings.
Fig 1 Percentage respondent from buildings

Demographics shows that 52.2% of respondents have worked in the industry for less than 5 years, 17.4% had 5 to 10 years’ experience, 17.4%
had more than 15 years’ experience and 13% had 11 to 15 years’ experience. It was found out that 40.9% of respondents have a large scale
company with more than 250 employees, 36.4% have a small scale company having 10 to 50 employees, 13.6% have micro company with less
than 10 employees and 9.1% have medium scale company of 51to 250 employees.
Survey shows that respondents regarded bricks and blocks as major debris at site with 54%, concrete waste was in second with 21% , steel with
8% and followed by Tiles, marble and granite and steel with 8%. And finally Gypsum, pop, paints with 9%

Fig 2 Percentage debris from site

3.2 Empirical evidence of the levels of contribution of waste minimization measures

Of the respondents who practiced some form of waste management, they rated the factors influencing the practice of Construction Waste
Management. Environmental concern and part of corporate social responsibility was cited as the main motivation and was highly preferred as a
factor for minimizing construction waste. Economical gain was ranked second and closely followed by the prospect of being the pioneer in
construction field with regards to waste management. Legislative rules and regulation was considered less viable in ensuring waste
management. Table 1 below shows the percentages and rankings of the various factors influencing minimization of construction waste.

Table 1: Ratings for the factors influencing minimization of construction waste.

Factor Highly preferred Least preferred (%) Rank
(%)
Environmental concern and part of CSR 70.8 29.2 1
Economical gain 68 32 2
Pioneer in construction field with regards 55.5 44.5 3
to waste management
Legislative rules and regulations 36.4 63.6 4

Table 2: Ratings of the important incentives to help reduce wastes in construction projects.
Measure Most preferred (%) Least Rank
preferred (%)
Training of workers 70 30 1
Company waste management policy 68.2 31.8 2
Financial reward and promotion 65 35 3
Government incentives 40 60 4
From table 2, the ratings of important incentives to help reduce waste in construction projects, training of workers was considered as most
preferred, followed by company waste management policy, financial reward and promotion and government incentives.

Respondents ranked the willingness of various stakeholders with regards to waste minimization; the order was as follows, Client, designer,
contactor and lastly sub-contractor.
Respondents were asked to rate the barriers they experienced that impede waste minimization of waste in construction projects. Lack of proper
training and education, lack of promotion of waste clients and waste accepted as inevitable, was the order of their ranking.minimization
measures, poorly defined individual responsibilities, lack of interest

Table3: Barriers that impede waste minimization in construction projects

Barrier Agree (%) Neutral (%) Rank
Lack of proper training and education 46.7 53.3 1
lack of promotion of waste minimization measures 23.3 76.7 2
poorly defined individual responsibilities 20.0 80.0 3
lack of interest from clients 15.0 85 4
waste accepted as inevitable 12.5 87.5 5

Table 4: Benefits of construction waste minimization

Benefits accruing Very Least important Rank
important(% (%)
Reduction in the transportation cost of waste & Co2 emission 65 35 1
Increase in environmental awareness 63 37 2
company image improvement 60 40 3
cost saving and profit maximization 55 45 4
Reduced demand for landfills space 40 60 5
legislative compliance 35 65 6

Professionals were asked to rate the benefits of construction waste management and minimization. Reduction in the transportation cost of waste,
followed by increase in environmental awareness, company image improvement, cost saving and profit maximization, reduce demand for
landfills space and finally followed by legislative compliance as shown in table 4.
Execution stage was identified to be the stage that generates maximum waste followed by monitoring, initiation (Design and documentation),
closure, planning and scheduling had a lower rating of waste generation.

Table 5: Respondents rated the construction stages in terms of waste generated

Project stage Maximum waste (%) Minimum waste (%) Rank
Execution 90 10 1
monitoring 71 29 2
Initiation 62.5 37.5 3
closure 60 40 4
Planning and scheduling 35 65 5

 41.7% said that the reconciliation statement report is generated weekly, 33.3% said that it’s generated monthly, 16.7% said that it’s
generated daily and 8.3% said that it’s generated yearly.
 66.7% of the companies do not recycle the construction waste generated, however only 33.3% of the companies have recycling
measures.
 The general observation from the results of the analysis was that the practice of waste management by construction firms in Chennai
is lagging behind when compared to high standards set by the European countries and USA. Nearly seventy percent said that they
were in companies that do not recycle its waste generated. And only about 30% have recycling measures in their companies and it’s
clear that the professionals were not aware of any legislation on construction wastes as clearly depicted by the low ratings they have
given to this factor in various questions.

3.3. PROJECT STAGES AND ESSENTIAL FACTORS AFFECTING MATERIAL WASTE ON SITE

Third type of questionnaire asked the Professionals in the construction industry about factors affecting material waste on site throughout the life
of the project. They were to rank these factors at various stages of construction.
• Design and documentation:
It is found that 8.75 respondents suggested that design changes and revisions is the most affecting factor at this stage and leads to
generation of maximum wastes, reworks contrary to specifications, followed by ignorance about types and sizes of materials on design
documents, ambiguities, mistakes and inconsistences in drawings, lastly selection of low quality product.
 • Material procurement:
Poor schedule of materials procurement as the most affecting factor with 6, second ordering materials that do not fulfil project
requirements, third over ordering, fourth purchase of materials contrary to specifications, last is impossibilities to order small quantities.
• Materials management on site:
Lack of onsite materials control is the most affecting factor with 8, second use of excessive quantities of materials more than required, third
is unnecessary inventories at site, and fourth is lack of logistic plan, theft and vandalism as the least factor.
• Materials handling, storage and transportation:
inadequate stacking and insufficient storage as the most affective factor, followed by inappropriate storage leading to damage or
deterioration, third accident, fourth unnecessary material handling, last is damage during onsite transportation
• On-site operations:
Lack of skilled subcontractors as most affective, second inappropriate construction methods, third due to reworks, fourth poor
workmanship, lack of coordination among crews as the least affective factor.
• Site management and practices:
Lack of waste management plan as the most affecting factor, second lack of a quality management system aimed at waste minimization,
third Incompetent consultants and technical staff, fourth Poor site layout and lack of strategy to waste minimization as least affecting
factor.
 Site supervision:
Respondents cited Inadequate supervision as the most affecting factor, closely followed by change orders, third incompetent consultant’s
technical staff and the least affecting factor is slow response from consultant engineer to contractor inquires.

From the above data, it has been found out that the following are the factors that lead to the creation of maximum wastes on site and further
increases the cost of project substantially.
1. Design changes and revisions.
2. Reworks contrary to specifications (Rework due to workers mistakes)
3. Poor schedule of materials procurement
4. Ordering materials that do not fulfil project requirements.
5. Use of excessive quantities of materials more than required.
6. Unnecessary inventories at site.
7. Lack of onsite materials control
8. Use of excessive quantities of materials more than required.
9. Inadequate stacking and insufficient storage.
10. Inappropriate storage leading to damage.
11. Lack of waste management plan.
12. Inadequate supervision
13. change orders
Knowing the factors that contribute more for the generation of wastes and therefore increasing project costs and having seen execution,
monitoring and initiation stages as major contributors to construction wastes, recommendations to reduce waste material, to reduce waste in
planning and designing phase, Onsite approach of waste reduction are then given as mitigation measures.

4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The survey results shows that the general practice of Construction Waste Management and site waste minimization in Chennai’s Construction
industry is still poor but has room for immense improvement. The construction professional’s understanding of construction of waste
management was found to be deficient since most respondents had less than 5years of experience , and the adoption and practice was further
hampered by lack of sufficient legislation or government incentives to encourage the teachings of sustainable construction. These
recommendations are made to mitigate the challenges of waste management.
I. Educational institutions should include the teaching of sustainable construction in the curriculum of professionals in construction
industry. Conferences and workshops should be organized to educate practicing professionals
II. Government should strictly monitor the handling and disposal of construction waste (legislation) such as landfill tax, higher tax by
using virgin construction materials, tax credit for recycling etc. , can be used on construction site waste minimization.
Incentive scheme should be setup by government to reward firms how embraced construction waste management

Two main stages of building project were identified as the major contributors to construction waste and therefore there is need to direct a lot of
efforts at these stages towards waste minimization.
A. Design and documentation stage.
B. Construction stage.

A. Design and documentation stage

Tenders and contractors

There should be tender/contract requirements for good practices of waste minimization and management. An imposing condition in the contract
regarding waste minimization so that it will be enforced by the Law also.The tender/contract requirements should include the following
 The contractor that sets quantitative targets for waste recovery.
  Contractor that commits continual improvement targets for waste minimization
 Use of any demolition protocol if required or Design for deconstruction and material reuse (sequential demolition technology)
especially for high-rise buildings.
 A site waste management plan that includes the management of waste generated and waste disposed.
 Tenders should be on the basis of optional amounts to segregate waste streams.
 Contractors should report the quantities of different waste streams they have managed.
 Sub-contractors should be equally liable as the main contractors.

Design to prevent waste

Paying attention to waste potential in the building’s design stage can lead to less waste on the site. The following are the recommendations to
be followed to reduce or minimize waste at this stage
 Carrying out detailed study of the site regarding slopes and other field conditions so that the structure will be resource proficient.
 Design and plan a building for greater lifetime and accordingly choose materials so that the cost of maintenance in future will reduce.
 Practicing integrated planning approach involving architect, designer, builder and sub-contractors.
 Optimize building dimensions and design as per dimensions available in the market and that will eliminate cutting and shaping steel
frame, plywood and drywall.
 Significant amount of waste can be eliminated by using smart engineering, standard dimensions, recycled materials, metal formwork
instead of wooden formwork for concrete work.
 Carrying out an examination related to new planning and designing approach that will decrease wastes in planning phase itself.
 Design for simplicity and user friendliness by avoiding complex shapes in design.
 Consider piles or poles on sloping sites to avoid unnecessary excavation.
 Change management to reduce i.e. (Limiting design changes to design stage), try to avoid or minimize design variations
 Achieve service efficiency through design e.g. group the wet areas (Kitchen, laundries and bathrooms) close together; it will reduce
pipework length and sharing of gully traps
 Consult all the stakeholders involved in the execution of the project and take the time to plan well. Have to brainstorm ideas that will
reduce wastes.
 Environmental impact assessment of the scheme during the design phase.
 In designing and documentation phase, the focus should be on exclusion of waste rather than minimization.
 Minimize the number of blueprints and reproductions necessary during the design and construction.
 During remolding, evaluate if salvaging used lumber is possible.

Plan for waste prevention

 Estimate the types and quantities of waste the project will generate and determine a schedule of when the wastes will be generated.
 Work with all suppliers to reduce waste on a project by asking them to buy back unused product.
 Ask suppliers to deliver supplies using sturdy, returnable pallets and containers. Then have the suppliers pick up the empty containers
when delivering new building materials.
 Ascertain if storage and handling practices prevent loss from weather and other means and make revisions as needed.

B. Construction stage (Execution)

There should be a structured methodology to be produced during construction to minimize wastes
The main causes are;
 Damage by mishandling, storage
 Rework
 Lack of recycling
 Excess ordering

To develop a successful construction waste minimization program, the builder should plan for best cost-effective approach and the following are
some of the recommendations.

 Adequate supervision and controlled use of materials by requisite building professionals should be promoted and skillful operatives
are used.
 Good building materials and with proper storage facilities and handling processes are used.
 Product’s information and advices are sought directly from manufacturers and experienced suppliers.
 Practitioners should endeavor to use proper materials scheduling and avoid excess bulk materials’ purchase.
 Providing proper training to the individuals that are performing work on site is definitely additional cost to the project but it will save
huge amount of money at the end.
 Providing different containers and smaller bins for all possible kinds of wastes (segregation of wastes at source)
 Finding right people for execution of work that will understand the importance of waste reduction
 Preparing documentation related to waste (quantity purchased and actual quantity used)
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