Major factors impeding the implementation of waste management in Australian construction projects

This article aims to identify barriers to implementing waste management practices in construction projects and their interrelationship, based on the particular context of Australia. Interviews and a questionnaire survey are conducted as the primary data collection methods supported by findings of a charrette. The findings reveal twenty critical barriers to implementing waste management practices in Australian construction projects. Four underlying factors to impede waste management practices are extracted based on results of an exploratory factor analysis. These include rigidityof construction practices, construction project characteristics, awareness, experience and commitment, and the nascent nature of waste management. The study also finds that both human factors and technical factors act as barriers to implementing waste management practices in Australian construction projects whereas human factors aremore dominant. Thus, it is essential to address all these barriers in the early stage of construction projects for reducing waste generation