STUDY OF CONSTRUCTION WASTE MANAGEMENT IN KADUNA METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

Civil Engineering

Waste on construction can unnecessarily be produced due to the excessive ordering or quantification of materials and the mishandling of the materials by unskilled labourers. Natural disasters can also generate construction and demolition (C&D) waste. These few activities result in several significant problems, e.g., how to transport the waste, store it temporarily before processing, and finally, where to dispose, mostly landfill sites. C&D waste has chemical properties that make it difficult to be broken down or changed by waste processing techniques like other forms of waste. The research work studied construction waste management in Kaduna metropolis. The study identified that construction waste management involves the following activities: construction waste avoidance; construction waste reduction; construction waste reuse; construction waste recycling; deconstruction and finally construction waste disposal in a responsible way as a last resort when the material cannot be reused directly or recycled for reuse. In the study, it is established that construction waste management in Kaduna metropolis is not efficient and that the following are requirements for achieving efficient construction waste management in Kaduna metropolis: availability of disposal facility and appropriate landfills licensed for construction waste; availability of facilities and technologies that will make recycling, deconstruction and reusing materials and components practicable; existence of environmental legislation; enforcement of environmental legislation and availability of market for recycled, reuse and deconstruction materials and components. The research identified the following as the main causes of construction waste on construction site: Damage by mishandling; Weather and other natural occurrences; Vandalism; Rework and alteration of designs; Lack of recycling facilities; over ordering of construction materials and components. The research further identified the following as the factors that influence construction waste management activities: role of the site manager/contractor; Designs and forms of buildings; Lack of market for recycling and reused materials; Lack of market for recycling and reused materials; Lack of interest for reuse and recycling; lack of facilities and technology for recycling, deconstruction and reusing; Poor information and partnership between parties to the contract and amount of funds available for construction waste management.

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