management hierarchy based on priority actions.
The top priorities of the waste hierarchy is
prevention and the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle)
followed by ‘Other recovery’. The least priority
is the ‘Disposal’ that includes land filling and
incineration.
i. Prevention and Reduction
Prevention and reduction approaches are the
primary effort in reducing waste generated
in construction. Prevention provides financial
benefits because it reduces the excessive
purchase of construction materials and averts
the need to remove wastes from site. Two of the
methods that can be used at this stage are:
●●
Ensuring that construction materials are
ordered according to needs to prevent
oversupply on site; and
●●
Ensuring proper storage and handling
of construction materials to minimise
generation of damaged materials/waste
(as shown in Figure 2),
Figure 1: The hierarchy of waste management
(a)
(b)
Figure 2: (a) Example of proper storage and handling of construction material,
(b) Example of improper storage and handling of material that lead to waste generation
(Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation, 2015)
Figure 3: Proper segregation of construction waste materials at site
(Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation, 2015)
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