SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION : RECYCLING AND REUSING CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTE

Abstract

The construction industry is moving towards sustainable construction globally. Singapore being one of the leading countries in Asia has also given more focus on sustainable construction. Using recycled Construction and Demolition waste is one of the solutions for sustainable construction, as it may solve the problems of scarcity of resources such as material, land and labour. However, construction personnel do not necessarily possess the relevant information. This will lead them not being able to evaluate the Construction and Demolition waste as construction materials. Therefore, they would not accept it as building materials in their projects. Hence the objectives of this dissertation are to determine the current level of awareness of the construction personnel on the availability of the information on recycling and reused Construction and Demolition waste and to identify the level of acceptance of reusing and recycling Construction and Demolition waste by the construction industry personnel. Questionnaire survey is selected as the methodology in this dissertation as it will be able to reflect the true perception of the construction industry personnel on recycled Construction and Demolition waste. In the survey that was conducted in this research, 194 responses were obtained from construction industry personnel. Findings from the survey show that the level of awareness on the information on recycling and reusing Construction and Demolition waste by the construction personnel is low. Despite this, the level of acceptance on recycling and reusing Construction and Demolition waste has increased over time. However, the barriers for the acceptance of Construction and Demolition waste by the construction personnel have not changed significantly. Recommendations of this study include enforcement of legislation on Construction and Demolition waste management, educating construction industry personnel on Construction and Demolition waste, increasing landfill tax and promoting recycling of Construction and Demolition waste in the Green Mark Scheme. The recommendations are developed from practices that are obtained from other countries. However, modification to these practices might be needed to ensure that it fits into local context.