An investigation of construction waste made in Mainland China

Various types of construction wastes are generated during construction activities. The expansion of construction wastes not only represents an enormous dissipation of resources but also results in serious environmental pollution, thus creating negative effects to the sustainable development of environmental industry and society. With the developing of economy and industry, the waste problems are much more serious these year than in past; therefore, waste management had been a pressed issue from the government in order to protect the environment. This paper analyses the production and sources of construction wastes produced on site through data obtained from a series detailed questionnaire survey and structured interviews conducted in Shenzhen and Hong Kong. According to the survey, concrete and cement, brick, timber, tile, steel and aluminum waste are the main wastes produced on construction sites. And the sources of these wastes vary from one another, what’s more, human behavior can serious affect the amount of the waste. At the end of this paper, some suggestions such as improving legislation, involving environment consideration in design stage, including on-site waste management in the tendering report, are given to improve the present situationFull Tex