%0 Journal Article
%T Quantitative Analysis of the Sources of Construction Waste
%A Olusanjo O. Fadiya
%A Panos Georgakis
%A Ezekiel Chinyio
%J Journal of Construction Engineering
%D 2014
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2014/651060
%X The construction industry is traditionally environmentally unfriendly. The environmental impacts of construction waste include soil contamination, water contamination, and deterioration of landscape. Also, construction waste has a negative economic impact by contributing additional cost to construction due to the need to replace wasted materials. However, in order to mitigate waste, construction managers have to explore management options, which include reduction, recycling, and disposal of wastes. Reduction has the highest priority among the waste management options but efficient reduction cannot be achieved without adequate identification of the sources of waste. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present a study that was carried out on the contribution rates of nine identified sources of construction waste. Establishing the contribution rates of different waste sources will enhance knowledge-based decision-making in developing appropriate strategy for mitigating construction waste. Quantitative research method, using survey questionnaire, was adopted in this study to assess the frequency and severity of contribution of the sources of waste. As one of the findings of the study, residual waste such as material off-cuts was identified as the highest contributor to construction waste. This study consequently demonstrated that waste has a significant contribution to the cost of construction. 1. Introduction Waste may be generated during both the extraction and processing of the raw materials and eventual consumption of final products therein. Rubbles and other waste materials arise from construction activities like demolition, renovation of buildings, and new construction [1]. The construction industry is traditionally environmentally unfriendly [2, 3]. Construction cultural practice contributes to waste where trade contractors are rewarded for speed rather than their concern for the environmental impact of their work [4]. Furthermore, construction activities consume a large quantity of materials and energy as well as generating unacceptable level of solid waste [3]. The construction industry consumes 25% of virgin wood and 40% of raw stone, gravel, and sand globally every year [5]. In the US, the production of building components and construction process itself use 40% of extracted materials [6]. Construction work leads to land development, land deterioration, resources depletion, waste generation, and various forms of pollution [7, 8]. The construction industry generates about 35% of industrial waste in the world [9, 10]. In the European Union,
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jcen/2014/651060/