Implementing a site waste management plan - A case study of a medium sized building contractor in Ireland. _______________________ Jan Göttsche Supervisor: Dr. Mark Kelly A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Masters in Environmental Systems. Galway – Mayo Institute of Technology. 2011/2012 Plagiarism Declaration – September 2012 I, Jan Gӧttsche, declare that this thesis is an original work carried out by the author with due reference and acknowledgements given where necessary towards the work of others. No part of this thesis has previously been accepted for any degree and is not concurrently submitted for any other award. I declare that the work contained in this thesis is my original work unless otherwise stated. All information including tables and diagrams which is copied from or based on the work of others has its source clearly acknowledged in the text and its reference clearly outlined at the end of the document. Signature: ____________________________ Date: _____________ i This thesis has been printed on 100% recyclable paper. The paper is FSC certified, carries the EU Ecolabel as well as having ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification. ii Abstract Construction and demolition waste management is becoming increasingly important on construction sites as landfill space in Ireland is rapidly depleting and waste management costs are rising. Due to these factors waste management plans are seen as a good response to minimising waste on site and this thesis aims to investigate how to implement such a plan on a practical case study as well as investigating the legislation regarding construction and demolition waste along with market availability for the reuse of the waste. Main contractor surveys were also carried out in order to gain a better understanding of current attitudes within the industry and these surveys are analysed in chapter five. A survey was also carried out among sub-contractors but this survey has not been used for this thesis as the study is on-going. The primary aim of this thesis is to examine the waste hierarchy opportunities that are available for construction and demolition waste in Ireland and to examine the effects of management strategies on construction and demolition waste reduction at the project level. A partnership was developed with Carey Developments Ltd in Co. Galway and an analysis of their waste management practices was undertaken. The primary case study will be the ‘Taylors Hill’ project in Co. Galway where work commenced in March, 2012. The secondary aim of the thesis is to develop specific waste minimisation strategies for the company and to develop a training tool kit for use on site. This thesis concentrates on the possible waste management strategies which a company can use to successfully implement good practice waste management. The initial research found that the construction and demolition waste topic is a worldwide issue with research being compiled constantly in order to help contractors implement successful waste management strategies. The initial stage of research involved a review of the legislation, theories and studies related to construction and demolition waste management. This research revealed that while good practice waste management is challenging, it is an achievable goal. Both primary and secondary research was carried out during this study. The research strategy comprises the collection of secondary and primary information on the issues and solutions to waste management in Ireland and a practical application through the case iii study. In order to further develop arguments some of the findings from the questionnaire are woven into each chapter and discussed where relevant. The secondary research forms part of the literature review and the primary research focuses on the Carey Developments case study and the questionnaire. With the aid of both methods of research the thesis hypothesis will be investigated. The thesis will be considered successful if the author can help to implement waste management practices and develop a learning toolkit for Carey Developments. The literature review in the first chapter describes the secondary research that was carried out for this thesis. Secondary data was collected for the literature review in order to obtain an understanding of the current legislation and practices of waste management in Ireland. Following this the author could identify where the problems are occurring and work towards providing answers to these problems. Questionnaires, a case study and a literature review were carried out and from this it was possible to gain an awareness of the attitudes and opinions in relation to construction and demolition waste management in Ireland. Results stemming from the research were analysed to give a snapshot insight into the waste management practices on site and also how the implementation of a waste management plan should be approached. The use of a questionnaire provided a good insight into the current attitudes of main contractors towards waste management in Ireland. It was found that there is a lack of training and knowledge within the industry as the majority of the respondents had received no training in relation to waste management. The majority of respondents also believed that a lack of training and knowledge of waste management is a problem within the industry. The barriers to waste management were found to be; poorly defined responsibilities, waste management is not a goal of the main stakeholders and the lack of waste management policy was preventing companies from implementing waste reduction measures. The majority of respondents believe that waste prevention and minimisation will be a major issue for the construction industry in the future and that there are currently financial rewards to be gained from minimising, preventing and recycling waste. Through the use of the questionnaire and the case study an insight into the current practices and attitudes within the industry has been gained. iv The case study for this thesis was seen as a good opportunity to develop an insight into the realities of the treatment of construction waste on construction sites in Ireland. From the observations made on the case study and the research carried out as part of the thesis it is clear that waste minimisation can be carried out quite easily once waste minimisation is considered at an early stage and is linked into the contract documents. Typically the implementation of waste minimisation techniques requires three basic components; waste minimisation during the design stage, source reduction and recycling. Waste minimisation during the design stage has huge potential to impact positively on waste minimisation as it is during this stage that some of the major decisions are made such as the form of the building. Source reduction helps avoid waste generation while recycling helps to conserve natural resources and prevents wasted materials from entering the waste stream. There is huge potential for the minimisation of construction waste which arises through both design and the construction process. In order to reduce wastage rates it is important to focus on both issues. The most important factor for on-site waste management is the on-site segregation of the waste. If this process fails then it becomes difficult for the waste to be recycled. At the outset this will take some extra time and training of the construction staff but once the segregation habits are established the waste segregation on site can be done at a small or no additional cost. It is also important that a waste management plan should be formulated at the earliest possible stage of the project; the formal production of the waste management plan can be at a later stage but a waste management philosophy ought to be adopted by the designer at the earliest possible stage. The aim of the plan is for it to become common practice on-site and eventually merge into day to day activities. A waste management plan should not be seen as a complicated document or seen as a burden by the person nominated for its implementation. It is clear that a change in the current waste management practices is needed in order to eliminate waste on site. This will require a shift from thinking of construction waste as something that is unwanted and destined to be discarded to thinking of these materials as a resource that can be reused, recycled or recovered. There are a number of recommendations which have been drawn from the research carried out as part of this thesis. These recommendations are; v Waste management plans should be made mandatory for all but minor developments such as one off houses. The benefits of waste management, waste minimisation and the use of recycled materials should be promoted by professional bodies such as the construction industry federation. The setting up of recycling plants to process construction waste and other wastes should be encouraged. Standards for recycled products need to be published so that the perception of the industry can be changed towards these products. All parties within the construction process have a role to play in relation to waste management. Main contractors need to engage with suppliers and manufactures so that take back schemes for materials and packaging waste can be set up in Ireland. It is important that main contractors choose sub-contractors, suppliers and waste management contractors who will comply with their waste management objectives. vi Acknowledgements Thanks and acknowledgements are due to many people who have given their time, support, encouragement, advice and expertise over the past year. Firstly I would like to thank my thesis supervisor Dr Mark Kelly for his help and guidance in the preparation and compilation of this thesis. Marks commitment to helping with this thesis is an inspiration and despite having a packed work schedule he always made time for me as a master’s student. It is safe to say that without his help and assistance this thesis would not have been possible.