TITLE:
An Investigation of Waste Management Practices in the Zambian Construction Industry
AUTHORS:
Franco Muleya, Herbert Kamalondo
KEYWORDS:
Waste Management, Sustainable Management, Disposal, Construction Waste
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Building Construction and Planning Research,
Vol.5 No.1,
February
9,
2017
ABSTRACT: This study investigated the practice and perceptions on waste management and the feasibility of establishing a site waste management plan in the Zambian Construction Industry (ZCI). In this research, Lusaka and the Copperbelt provinces were selected as study areas to represent the construction industry in Zambia. This was because the largest volume of construction work in the country is mainly concentrated in these two provinces. The research targeted contractors from Grades 1 to 3 as categorised and registered by the Zambian National Council for Construction (NCC). Consultancy firms and government institutions were also included in the target population as regulators. Data for this study were obtained through questionnaires, interviews and site surveys. The results from this research indicated that disposal was the most common method of waste management in the Zambian Construction industry as indicated by the highest ranking score with a mean index of 0.923. The research concluded that the construction industry in Zambia has poor practice of waste management through waste disposal which is not environmentally friendly. The results further indicated that it is feasible to adopt a Site Waste Management Plan in the Zambian Construction industry based on the respondents’ willingness mean score of 0.94 from all the categories. Finally, the research confirmed that a Site Waste Management Plan can be an effective tool to address waste management challenges in the Zambian Construction Industry based on the literature review and willingness measured from research respondents.