ASSESSMENT OF SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT IN THE NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

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ASSESSMENT OF SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT IN THE NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

ABSTRACT

The adoption of sustainable waste management methods in the Nigerian Construction industry is very important because as man continues to build, sustainable practices will continue to be a significant necessity. Change comes with numerous challenges and the adoption of sustainable waste management practices is not an exception. It is on this note that this study attempts an assessment of sustainable waste management in the Nigerian Construction Industry The aim of this study was achieved by seeking the opinion of various built environment professionals within Abuja, Nigeria. Existing methods of waste disposal in nigeria were outlined, familiarity with sustainable waste management practices was evaluated, challenges hindering the execution of sustainable waste disposal practices were identified as well and they were all assessed using mean score. The study revealed that the most familiar waste management methods that the construction industry are, Re-Use, Recycling & Landfilling. While the most practiced waste management methods are reuse, burning &landfilling. The most prominent challenges hindering sustainable waste management methods was found out to be Inadequate government support to green technology, Inadequate encouragement and support from the various professional bodies in the construction industry. The study recommends that construction companies should focus more on waste management which is more concerned about reduction of the total amount of construction waste generated and leaving disposal as a last resort. The waste management Hierarchy should be studied so that waste management methods can be understood and adopted. Also, the Government and the Governing bodies of construction professional bodies should put conscious efforts into supporting the execution of construction projects with the aim of using green technologies, sustainable construction methods as well as sustainable methods of waste management.

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The construction industry is a vital part of the economic backbone in many countries. The significance of this industry is often measured by considering its impact on the economy through quantities such as its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the amount of employment it creates. The Nigerian Construction industry contributed 10.17% to the Nominal Gross Development Product (GDP) of Nigeria in the first Quarter of 2021 higher than the 7.94% it contributed a year earlier and the 8.40% in the 4th quarter of 2020 (Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 2021).

The building and construction industry is one of the most important sectors of any given economy. The significance of this industry is often measured by considering its impact on the economy through quantities such as its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the amount of employment it creates (Sanusi, 2008).

The construction industry is considered by some economists as a leading driver of economic development in a country. This is basically due to the fact that almost all other sectors of the economy in one way or another depend solely on the products and services of the construction industry in order to carry out their operations. For example, it would be impossible for the manufacturing industry to thrive without appropriate buildings and infrastructure such as manufacturing plants, roads linking raw materials and manufacturing plants, office buildings, etc., all products of the construction industry (Sanusi, 2008).

The Nigerian construction industry, like in most other developing nations, is divided into two major groups: the organized, “formal,” and the unorganized, “informal” sectors of the industry. The unorganized sector, for which no accurate and reliable data is available on, comprises of the simple residential buildings and similar structures built by private citizens and constructed through the efforts of gangs of artisans and labor, hired mainly using the multiple primes method of construction, i.e., owner supervised construction. The government has almost insignificant influence on the operations of this sector and receives little or no revenue thorough taxes; hence, it is very difficult to obtain reliable statistical data about this sector (Sanusi, 2008).

On the other hand, the organized sector of the construction industry, for which all the data available is derived from, constitute all the major companies, which are legally registered in the country and carry out organized construction projects with a combination of both highly skilled expatriates and laborers. This sector operates under set rules and regulations, including adherence to national laws on employment, procurement, and tendering. Also, the government is aware of all the activities of this sector and collects frequent taxes from the companies. In Nigeria, the construction industry impacts the national economy in a significant way; however, its contribution is still very minute relative to other sectors such as Agriculture, Mining, and Quarrying. According to the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics, the contribution of the building & construction industry to the overall GDP between 2001 and 2005 averaged about 1.44% (NBS, 2006). This figure was projected to rise steadily to about 2.13% in 2008 by the Business Monitor International (BMI, 2007). Also, the industry accounts for about 69% of the nation’s fixed capital formation (BMI, 2007). This signifies that about 70% of the net capital investment in the country goes to the construction industry.

Construction and Demolition Wastes (C&DW) are the materials that are generated when new building and civil engineering structures are built, and also when current buildings and civilengineering structures are renovated or demolished with deconstruction activities. C&DW consist of debris that is generated during construction, renovation and demolition of buildings, roads, and bridges. The following are examples of heavy and bulky materials that are considered construction and demolition wastes: Concrete, steel, wood, Ashalt, rocks, metals, bricks, glass (Erich 2020)​

Such civil-engineering structures comprise every public building project such as street drainages, road or highways, bridges, utility plants, and dams (Nagapan, Abul-Rahman, & Aziz, 2012). However, waste material generation is a prominent issue in construction projects, and the adverse effect of waste has influenced the management of C&DW in many countries. C&DW is the major contributor to nearly 15–30% of the entire volume of waste that is disposed in several landfill sites in most countries, but this figure is bound to increase to approximately 40% when taking into consideration the amount of C&DW generated in construction per tonnes per day (Tam, Tam, Drew, & Shen, 2004).

Construction waste is toxic, expensive, poses a great danger to the environment and occupies space which may otherwise be used for development & minerals extraction amongst other uses (Erich, 2020). An estimated 77.4 million tonnes of construction waste is festering in UKlandfillsites. For this reason, construction industries need to find suitable methods to manage construction and demolition materials that generate waste during construction activities. The industry has not failed to acknowledge its role in resolving the problem and some positive steps have been taken to reduce waste to landfill, but there is room for improvement (Consultancy Trident Building, 2021).

Construction and demolition waste (C&DW) accounts for half of the solid waste generated in our environment. Extraction, processing and disposal of these material generates large amount of reusable and recyclable waste, which when ignored, will impact the environment negatively, but when managed effectively will become a potential wealth of resources (Chinedu, 2020). The volume of construction waste generated worldwide every year will nearly double to 2.2 billion tons by 2025, according to a report by Transparency Market Research. The study says “reduce, reuse and recycle” policies are necessary to control the amount of construction waste. To date, such policies have been hampered by insufficient resources, lack of standardization, slim profit margins, policy apathy, and lack of education regarding the issues.

Construction waste is already causing safety and environmental concerns around the globe. In December 2015, a pile of construction debris caused a landslide in Shenzhen, China, that killed more than 70 people.

Texas has been burdened by waste created by Hurricane Harvey in the Houston area in 2018. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has waived some solid waste disposal regulations to hasten the clean-up. In Minnesota, construction debris is affecting groundwater, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is pushing for tougher standards for demolition landfills that have no barrier between waste and groundwater.

Construction waste recycling and management involves the process and separation of salvaging the recoverable waste materials for recycling and reuse (Krause Manufacturing, 2012).

 

1.2 Statement of Research Problem

The construction industry is faced with many challenges, among which is waste management. Aside from the fact that wastage contributes to time and cost overrun, it also has environmental implications in the form of pollution (Ogunmakinde, Sher & Maund, 2019). The construction industry is a major exploiter of natural non-renewable resources and a polluter of the environment. Construction activity contributes to environmental degradation through resource depletion, land use and deterioration, power consumption, air pollution, and the generation of waste in the acquisition of raw materials The majority of this waste has not been well managed, thus causing substantial health and environmental problems which affects the performance of many projects in Nigeria (Wahab & Lawal, 2011). Studies from different parts of the world have shown that waste from the construction industry represents a relatively large percentage of production costs. Consequently, the poor management of materials and waste leads to an increase in the total cost of building projects. Sustainable waste management is a central part of a broader circular economy. It’s a systemic approach to economic development that stands in opposition to the take-make-waste model and aims to separate growth from the consumption of finite resources. Sustainable waste management helps tackle the broader issues of a linear consumption society, but also offers more direct solutions to the many problems waste causes. However, the industry has the capacity to effectively manage waste, from generation to disposal. All stages of the management process are important, but scholars and governments have provided the final step, being disposal, unabated attention in order to ensure effective management (Ojo, Mbowa & Akinlabi 2014). Therefore, this study aims to investigate methods of suitable waste management with a view to securing methods of sustainable waste management.

                         1.3            RESEARCH QUESTIONS​

In the course of this research the need to answer these questions have come up; 1. What are the methods of sustainable waste disposal in construction?

  1. To what extent are construction organizations in Nigeria familiar with sustainable waste
  2. To what extent are construction organizations in Nigeria familiar with sustainable waste disposal practices?
  3. What are the challenges hindering the execution of sustainable waste disposal practices in Nigeria?
  4. What methods are sustainable for disposing construction waste in Nigeria?

1.3 Aim and Objectives

1.3.1 Aim

The aim of this research project is to investigate ways that sustainable waste management may be adopted to reduce construction waste in Nigeria.

1.3.2 Objectives

The objectives of the study are to:

  1. Outline existing methods of waste disposal in construction.
  2. Evaluate how familiar construction organizations in Nigeria are with sustainable waste management practices.
  3. Identify the challenges hindering the execution of sustainable waste disposal practice.
  4. Recommend suitable sustainable methods of disposing construction waste in Nigeria.

1.4 Justification of the Study

Compared to the rest of the world, Nigeria is still far behind in embracing sustainability in the built environment. A study used the perceptions of professionals in the built environment to examine whether the concept of green building has been introduced to any project in Nigeria. This study concluded that green building is not practiced in Nigeria as there is no policy or enabling environment to support its adoption (Dahiru, Dania, & Adejoh, 2014). Numerous studies have documented that projects executed within the Nigerian construction industry are generally characterized by poor sustainability standards (Al-Saleh & Taleb, 2010) and (Aghimien, Adegbembo, Aghimien, & Awodele, 2018). However, if a positive change is desired, there is a need to understand the challenges hindering the successful planning and execution of sustainable projects which in this case relates to waste management. Hence the justification of this study which is to identify ways by which the quantity of waste generated can be reduced and repurposed.

1.5 Scope and Limitation of the Research

1.5.1 Scope of the Study

The scope of this study will cover the assessment of sustainable development and waste disposal recycling in the Nigerian Construction Industry. Data collection will be limited to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. This is because majority of consultants, clients and contractors have their operation office in Abuja with a lot of construction and civil engineering works ongoing concurrently and more importantly Abuja is the seat of government where a lot of development is going on, while most of the policy makers also resides in Abuja. Business Africa also named Abuja as one of the fastest growing cities.

 

 

 

1.6.2    Limitations

The foreseeable restrictions to this study are in terms of accessibility, cost and time.  Other limitations could be in the type of research adopted such as in qualitative research where some respondents may be non-responsive.

ASSESSMENT OF SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT IN THE NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

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