scholarly journals Using the Circular Economy to Manage Construction Waste

10.29007/5dl3 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riann Gonzalez ◽  
Abdol Chini

This paper explores using the practice of a circular economy to reduce the amount of construction and demolition (C&D) waste that is generated and going to landfills. The circular economy is a system where waste is minimized and resources are in use for as long as possible through recycling and reuse. This is in contrast to a linear economy where raw materials are extracted, used to make a product, and disposed of. This research is intended to address three issues facing the world which are increasing C&D waste due to an increase in population and urbanism, limited natural resources, and limited land available for landfills. Buildings are major consumers of resources and producers of waste. In 2015, the built environment generated two times the amount of waste than municipal solid waste in the US. The methodology includes gathering recent C&D waste statistics and researching case studies on the circular economy. The goal of this research is to reduce the amount of C&D waste sent to landfills by evaluating current waste management practices and providing recommendations to make C&D waste in line with the circular economy.

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 214
Author(s):  
Ann T. W. Yu ◽  
Irene Wong ◽  
Zezhou Wu ◽  
Chi-Sun Poon

Hong Kong is a densely populated city with high-rise developments, and as in other metropolitan cities, the amount of waste generated from construction projects in the city is increasing annually. The capacity of existing landfills is expected to be saturated by the 2020s. Construction waste management has been implemented for years but the performance is still not satisfactory. The aim of this research paper is to explore and formulate strategies and measures for effective construction waste management and reduction in highly urbanized cities such as Hong Kong. A desktop study on construction waste management practices was carried out for a preliminary understanding of the current situation in Hong Kong. Semistructured interviews and focus group meetings were further conducted to shed light on how to improve construction waste reduction and management in Hong Kong. The main contributions of this research study are the potential short-term, medium-term, and long-term strategies, which are related to the design stage, tender stage, construction stage, and government support. The five major strategies recommended are financial benefits to stakeholders, public policies in facilitating waste sorting, government supports for the green building industry, development of a mature recycling market, and education and research in construction waste minimization and management.


Author(s):  
Oladapo Michael Ogungbade ◽  
Butu William Ali ◽  
Abdulganiyu Oriola Kilani ◽  
Gbenga John Oladehinde ◽  
Tolulope Joy Akeju

Rapid urbanization and uncontrolled population growth in the city of Akure create a huge generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) and waste management authority has not been able to manage it properly. This has led to inefficient waste collection methods, insufficient coverage of the collection system and improper disposal of solid waste. This paper investigated municipal solid waste management practices in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. Simple random sampling was used in selecting 392 respondents within the eight districts in the study area. Information was collected on socio-economic characteristics of the respondents; nature and compositions of municipal solid waste and solid waste management practices in the study area. The study showed that female respondents (58.2%) were more than male (41.8%) in the study area. Also, a larger proportion of the respondents earned above N40,000 per month. More than one-third of the respondents (37.8%) created squander from vegetable and food remains, next to this were plastic (19.1%), paper (8.2%) and metal waste (6.6%). Further findings showed that the majority of the respondents (66%) do not segregate waste before disposal while the wastebasket was commonly preferred to collect waste due to its affordability. The study concluded that despite the establishment of waste management authority, most of the wastes collected was not sorted before disposal while the majority of the respondents preferred to burn their waste. The study recommended that government and non-governmental organizations should pay much attention to the issue of waste management in the area as waste was not properly managed.


Author(s):  
Jaison Chatsiwa ◽  
Never Mujere ◽  
Avhatendi Bethania Maiyana

The rapid increase in urban population has resulted in poor environmental conditions in urban and peri-urban settlements. In most developing countries, the problem of inefficient municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is endemic. The problem manifests in heaps of uncollected solid waste or ubiquitous illegal dumps on open areas and by the street sides. This paper examines issues of solid waste management practices in the City of Kwekwe in Zimbabwe. It highlights types of waste, its generation, transfer and disposal. A mixed methodological approach including field observations, structured questionnaire survey and face-to-face interviews were employed in the gathering of data for the study. The key findings established to be the factors affecting effective solid waste management in the City are irregular solid waste collection, inadequate operational funding, inappropriate technologies, inadequate staffing, lack of knowledge cooperation and knowledge on the part of the residents. Based on the research findings, principles of environmental stewardship need to be promoted in the City.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Messias Sodré Cunha ◽  
Jully do Nascimento Germano ◽  
Gustavo Tavares Machado ◽  
Frank Pavan de Souza

The main proposal of the circular economy is to change the concept of "garbage" fromWaste that was structured in this project and replaced by a continuous and cyclical vision of the production, in which resources are no longer just explored and discarded and are now reused in a new Cycle. The Circular Economy encourages new management practices, creating opportunities and value for organizations in harmony with the environment. This article aims to analyze the feasibility of implementing Circular Economy methods, with an emphasis on controlling scrap disposal in the Açu Port Complex (São Joãoda Barra/RJ), bringing sustainable alternatives to Waste Management. In addition to evaluating its environmental and economic efficiency, it proposes to end the linear production process and reinsert waste into the production cycle to minimize environmental treatment and the extraction of raw materials. The investigation will start through specific exploratory research, bringing as a consequence, possible economic alternatives for the reuse of these materials. The research is also classified as descriptiveand case study since a survey of real information on waste management in the Açu Port Complex will be carried out. It is hoped through this research to demonstrate how the circular economy can contribute to economic, social, and environmental development when used in an interdisciplinary way by productive activities.


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