Abstract
This paper is aimed at analyzing the need for well planned construction waste management in developed as well as developing countries. For this purpose, four journal articles were reviewed and their findings analyzed. Of these, two articles discussed waste management from the perspective of developed countries while the other two were written in the context of developing countries. The analysis revealed that the immediate needs and goals of developing and developed countries to manage their construction waste greatly differed. As such, the approach towards waste management also varied. However, the need for waste disposal to be well planned and executed was the commonality in both cases. The review of the articles concluded that the lack of proper management can lead to severe waste disposal and related issues. Also, even when a country has well planned disposal methods, there is always scope for further management to cope with growing construction waste disposal requirements.
Introduction
With global economies developing and changing at a rapid pace, construction activity, especially in the infrastructure and real estate sectors, is always high. As facilities and structures are built and demolished, the amount of construction waste to be disposed is a constant hassle. Waste is diverse in nature, consisting of various materials that may and may not have a hazardous impact on the environment, but need proper disposal none the less. However, construction waste disposal can prove to be a great challenge if not executed in a planned manner. Further, the resources at hand and the requirements for efficient disposal vary from country to country. As a result, construction waste management has become an imperative for every country, both in the developed as well developing world.
In order to better understand the scope for construction waste management in different scenarios, four articles have been identified for review in this paper. These articles are: a) Multi-Attribute Decision Making in Choosing Suitable Construction Waste Management Methods , b) A Framework for Managing Construction Demolition Waste: Economic determinants of recycling , c) Rehabilitation of a large coastal landfill , and d) Use of reliability methods as project management tools: The Cherry Island landfill Expansion project . While the work of Zhang et al and Houlihan et al address waste disposal issues in developed countries, Srour et al and El-Fadel et al speak of disposal challenges faced by developing countries. Through the analysis of these articles, a better understanding of the unique waste disposal requirements of different economies can be facilitated, thereby enabling improved construction waste management.
Summary
The review of the Zhang et al and Houlihan et al articles revealed that developed countries have comparatively well organized construction waste disposal system in place and most of their current requirements arise from growing disposal requirements such as expansion of landfills. These tasks are being addressed after considering best practices and scientific methods to ensure sustainability. However, the works of Srour et al and El-Fadel et al reveal that construction waste management has been haphazard in developing countries with random waste dumping taking place in large landfills. This has led to massive pile ups and as disposal requirements continue to grow, the situation has become critical. Zhang and Houlihan provide well researched, scientific proposals on how waste can be managed in developed countries. Their recommendations are standardized, applicable to a wide range of developed nations. On the other hand, Srour and el-Fadel suggestions for a specific city, namely Beirut, Lebanon, although focused on addressing issues unique to the city, are still vague on not based on statistical evidence and scientific understanding. As such, it can be concluded that there is still scope for improvement in construction waste management in developing countries.
Works Cited
El-Fadel, Mutasem and Salah Sadek. Rehabilitation of a large coastal landfill. Beirut: American University of Berut, n.d.
Houlihan, M.F., et al. "Use of reliability methods as a project management tool: The Cherry Island Landfill Expansion Project." GeoFlorida 2010: Advances in Analysis, Modeling & Design (2010): 1924-1933.
Roussat, N., C. Dujet and J. Méhu. "Choosing a sustainable demolition waste management strategy using multicriteria decision analysis." Waste Management 29.1 (2009): 12-20.
Srour, Issam M., et al. "A Framework for Managing Construction Demolition Waste: Economic determinants of recycling." Construction Research Congress (2012): 1631-1640.
Zhang, Xueqing and Yashuai Li. "Multi-Attribute Decision Making in Choosing Suitable Construction waste Management Methods." Construction Research Congress (2012): 1889-1898.
