Waste minimisation strategies at the design phase: Architects' response

Identifying factors affecting the low uptake of reprocessed construction materials: A systematic literature review

The success of demolition waste reverse logistics supply chains (DWRLSCs) depend on the market uptake of reprocessed construction materials (RCMs) since resource recovery will not be viable without a well-developed consumption process. However, usage of RCMs is sparse while there is also limited focus in existing research on their market uptake. Therefore, this systematic literature review (SLR) attempts to discern trends in research on the use of RCMs and identify factors that limit their uptake. 52 articles from three databases published between 2000 and 2021 were selected for descriptive and content analyses. Descriptive analysis showed growing research interest in the area over the last 5 years. Content analysis was underpinned by Attitude-Behaviour-Context (ABC) Theory which focuses on pro-environmental consumer decisions. As predicted by the theory, a mix of personal and contextual factors affect the low uptake of RCMs. Negative attitudes, reluctance to change the status quo and limited decision-making capabilities were identified as personal factors that limit the use of RCMs. Similarly, contextual factors such as price, quality, information availability, market availability, sourcing lead times and lack of regulations, standards, and specifications inhibit the use of such materials. The review also proposes several future research directions to expand knowledge around this domain.

Analysis of the socio-economic and environmental impacts of construction waste and management practices

This study aims to analyze the significant socioeconomic and environmental impacts of construction waste and to indicate management strategies. An extensive review of the literature and interviews with construction experts were used to identify waste impact factors. Then a questionnaire survey was conducted based on a five-point Likert scale and the data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. The result showed that construction waste becomes a challenge for almost 95.71% of ongoing construction projects. However, only 57.14% of the construction companies have recorded and measured the volume of material waste. From purchased materials, 6–10% is recorded as waste that lead to project cost overrun. In addition, there is no professional assigned to handle waste issues in 75.71% of construction companies. The study also indicates that project cost overrun, pollution of the environment, reduction in profit and failure of construction firms, excessive consumption of raw materials, and public health and safety risks are ranked as the five major impacts of construction waste, respectively. Employing a waste management officer, using prefabricated or off-site components, implementing strong onsite management practices, reusing and recycling materials leftover on the sites, and practicing green building codes and specifications are measures devised to mitigate construction waste and its impacts.

Promoting Construction Industrialisation with Policy Interventions: A Holistic Review of Published Policy Literature

By adopting the concept of ‘factory assembly followed by onsite installation,’ construction industrialisation (CI) plays an increasingly important role in sustainable urban development. CI can enhance construction quality and efficiency while reducing environmental impacts. To promote the CI, several policy interventions have been developed and implemented in different countries and regions. This study reviews the global CI promoting regulations and policies to provide a comprehensive insight into its interrelationship and development tendency. The research selects 105 publications related to practical CI policy from widely utilised databases (i.e., Web of Science and Scopus). Based on the annual publication trend analysis, geospatial distribution, and citation analysis, seven interrelated critical CI policy formulation themes are identified and examined: regulatory policies, standardised policies, promotional policies, urban design and planning policies, technological policies, managerial and educational policies, and sustainability policies. In addition, internal correlations and mutual influence among these seven classified policies are explored and discussed, which helps scholars enhance their grasp of current CI policy research and guide future research. This review provides the research community and industrial practitioners with a comprehensive understanding of various CI-promoting policies and a roadmap to CI-promoting policy development and evaluation.

How Lack of Knowledge and Tools Hinders the Eco-Design of Buildings—A Systematic Review

The building sector is responsible for extensive resource consumption and waste generation, resulting in high pressure on the environment. A way to potentially mitigate this is by including environmental considerations during building design through the concept known as eco-design. Despite the multiple available approaches of eco-design, the latter is not easily achieved in the building sector. The objective of this paper is to identify and discuss what barriers are currently hindering the implementation of eco-design in the building sector and by which measures building designers can include environmental considerations in their design process. Through a systematic literature review, several barriers to implementation were identified, the main ones being lack of suitable legislation, lack of knowledge amongst building designers, and lack of suitable tools for designers to use. Furthermore, two specific tools were identified that allow the inclusion of environmental consideration in building design, along with nine design strategies providing qualitative guidance on how to potentially minimize energy and material consumption, as well as waste generation. This paper contributes a holistic overview of the major barriers to and existing tools and method for the eco-design of buildings, and provides guidance for both future research and practice.