Prioritising critical attributes for the management of materials procurement and construction waste

Abstract

Construction and demolition waste constitutes the largest municipal solid waste (MSW) globally with environmental concerns. However, waste management is not considered a priority objective in construction compared to time and cost. Therefore, construction practitioners’ waste management priority is evaluated in this study. A review of the literature revealed waste management attributes from multiple perspectives. A questionnaire survey was adopted to solicit practitioners’ contributions on their importance. Then, the attributes were prioritised and categorised into high, medium and low priorities using the Voting Analytical Hierarchy Process (VAHP). Empirical results indicate that the high priority materials procurement attributes were alliance with suppliers, a take-back clause in suppliers’ agreement document, accurate material quantification, accurate material ordering, and just-in-time delivery (JIT) plan. Senior managers’ early commitment to waste minimisation, effective communication among project participants, making subcontractors responsible for their waste, identifying recyclable materials and identifying reusable materials were high-priority attributes for managing waste in the construction stage. The findings of this study indicate areas where contractors should focus effort to improve waste management in the industry by collaborating with subcontractors and suppliers. Future studies should focus on developing frameworks that provide actionable means for implementing waste management attributes identified in this research.