Waste Material Management on Building Construction in Sri Lanka; Mitigation of Concrete Waste Factor and Cost Effect During Construction Stage

Abstract

Material waste is one of the most important factors which effect the contractor directly by reducing profit and effect to the employer by increasing project cost. As a result, the majority of building projects have planned to address in multiple levels to reduce these wastes. Concrete debris is one of the waste materials in construction that costs the project's stakeholders the most. When compared to other material wastes, the volume of waste concrete generates as a primary component of the construction is disproportionately high in Sri Lankan construction projects. Most countries are currently working to reduce concrete waste while pursuing sustainable growth. As a result, traditional methods used to reduce concrete waste have not been effective over time. The aim of this research study is to achieve waste material management in building construction in Sri Lanka, mitigation of concrete waste factors, and cost-effective during the construction stage. To achieve the aim, a comprehensive literature review, semi- structured interviews and a questionnaire were conducted to gather data through both qualitative and quantitative procedures. The empirical findings revealed that concrete waste has a positive relationship with project cost. Precast elements, lean construction techniques, 3R concept, and a few more others were identified to minimize concrete waste, which reduces the project cost in the Sri Lankan construction industry. These research findings deliver beneficial evidence to the practitioners with an indepth understanding of the important necessity for the construction industry and thereby benefiting to reduce the project cost in construction projects.