INGENIEUR
Sustainable Construction
Waste Management
FEATURE
By Zuhairi Abd Hamid, Maria Zura Mohd Zain and Ahmad Farhan Roslan
Construction Research Institute of Malaysia, Makmal Kerja Raya Malaysia
T
he construction industry in Malaysia has
been quite robust for the last few years as
evidenced by the double-digit growth. Such
growth is expected to continue in the future. The
construction industry is recognised as one of key
industries that contributes 10% to the nation’s
gross domestic product (GDP). With the country’s
move towards the status of a developed nation
by 2020, the number of construction projects is
expected to increase significantly. The demands
in implementing major infrastructure projects,
together with the construction of commercial
buildings and housing development programmes,
will produce a large amount of construction
waste (Begum, Siwar, Pereira, & Jaafar, 2006).
In accordance with the increasing acceptance
of sustainable development globally, efficient
waste management should be emphasised.
Under the 11th Malaysia Plan (11th MP), holistic
waste management is highlighted as one of the
strategies in adopting sustainable consumption
and production concepts. Construction waste in
the 11th MP is listed as a type of waste that can
be managed in a holistic manner based on the life
cycle approach (Economic Planning Unit Malaysia,
2015).
Construction waste in Malaysia
The rapid development in developing countries,
such as Malaysia, has led to serious generation of
construction waste. Unmanageable construction
waste creates a negative impact on the
environment (climate change, water and soil
pollution, air pollution and ecological imbalance),
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social and health (health hazards, proliferation
of pests and impact on work safety) and the
economy (reduction in environmental resources
and energy usage, international reputation and
effect on tourism). Despite the realisation of the
impact of construction waste, systems adopted to
manage it in the country have remained at a poor
level.
The generation of waste in the construction
industry needs to be examined by looking into the
whole life cycle of a building – planning, design and
procurement; construction; occupancy; operation,
maintenance, renovation and demolition. In
this context, managing construction waste is
implemented by eliminating waste where possible,
minimising waste where feasible and reusing
materials which might otherwise become waste.
Waste management in the construction industry
should adopt the waste management hierarchy.
Construction waste management is an
essential aspect of sustainable building and green
building practices. Going forward, the Government
will push the construction industry towards holistic
construction waste management based on the life
cycle approach. Integration between the closedloop approach and principle of the waste hierarchy
is suggested by the authors as a holistic approach
in managing waste.
The Waste Hierarchy
The waste hierarchy is recognised as the best
option in managing waste because it benefits
the country’s economy and creates less impact
on the environment. Figure 1 shows the waste