Sustainable Construction Waste Management in Australia

The assignment content discusses the importance of sustainability in waste management practices in the Australian construction industry. The current research aims to discuss how sustainability is being promoted in construction waste management practices in Australia, including the key principles of the National Waste Policy and the impact of construction waste management on the environment.

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International Construction

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Table of Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................3
2.0 CONSTRUCTION WASTE MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA...........................................3
3.0 EXTENT OF CONSTRUCTION WASTE MANAGEMENT.................................................4
4.0 IMPACT OF CONSTRUCTION WASTE MANAGEMENT..................................................5
5.0 STEPS TO CONTROL CONSTRUCTION WASTE...............................................................5
6.0 CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................6
7.0 REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................8

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1.0 INTRODUCTION
The construction works generate a number of bio-degradable and non-degradable wastes. In
many cases, these wastes are used to landfill which cause environmental degradation. With the
growth of the construction industry, the amount of generate waste is also increasing (Park and
Tucker, 2017). As an effect, the environmental degradation caused by these wastes is also
increasing. It, in turn, is enhancing the importance of sustainable waste management in the
industry. Sustainability is one of the major concerns in the waste management of the construction
industry in Australia. The current research aims at discussing how sustainability is being
promoted in construction waste management practices in Australia. The research also gives
importance to discussing the effects of waste management and the control measures adopted in
this industry.
2.0 CONSTRUCTION WASTE MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA
The construction waste management in Australia is done as per the key principles of the 2018
National Waste Policy (Department of the Environment and Energy, 2019). The 2018 National
Waste Policy gives a framework that needs to be adopted by the governments, businesses,
individuals and communities to meet the sustainability goals until 2030 (Department of the
Environment and Energy, 2019). The key principles of national waste policy 2018 are avoiding
waste, improvement of resource recovery, enhancing the use of recycled materials and
developing demand as well as market for the recycled waste, managing the material flow in order
to derive benefit for the human health, economy and environment, improving the quality of
information for the purpose of supporting innovation, guiding the innovation, investment and

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promoting the customer decision (Department of the Environment and Energy, 2019).
Construction waste management policies in Australia are also influenced by international waste
legislation.
International legislation regarding the construction and demolition waste is categorised as policy
instruments which are promoting recycling or policy/instruments which are promoting the usage
of recycled materials. In the international context, it is observed that environmental laws in
different countries focus on facilitating enforcement of policies of both categories. However,
such policies rarely address the construction wastes specifically. In the international context, a
number of instruments are used to increase the reuse of waste as well as minimize the usage of
these materials for landfilling (Khalfan et al., 2015). These instruments typically include
economic penalties, incentives, permits and guidelines which are usually implemented at
regional levels. The reprocessed materials are extensively used in civil works. The application is
regulated with material specifications or recommended through guidelines. Government
procurement policies in the international context also play an important role while using the
recycled product. The guidelines and specifications are offered by the national bodies. In the case
of Australia also, the government procurement strategies are used to promote reuse of the
construction wastes.
3.0 EXTENT OF CONSTRUCTION WASTE MANAGEMENT
The construction waste management policies in Australia aimed at improving the knowledge of
the current practices (Department of the Environment and Energy, 2019). The policies also focus
on developing a national approach in order to increase the usage of recovered wastes. Finally, the
policies give importance on identifying the opportunities to create a market for recycled wastes.

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Waste management policies are based on the concept of achieving sustainability with the help of
recycling.
In Australia, the sustainability in waste management is promoted through the legislation, policies
and standards. However, the legislative framework does not directly address the management
issues of construction wastes. Rather, it specifies the responsibilities of the state and territory
governments to address the environmental issues in different waste streams. Different states in
the country have own regulatory framework. Due to differences in the frameworks, in Australia,
a multi-stakeholder engagement approach is adopted. Here, all the parties need to abide by the
laws for managing the wastes in a sustainable manner.
4.0 IMPACT OF CONSTRUCTION WASTE MANAGEMENT
In Australia, the focus on sustainability in construction waste management is leading to the
increased use of recycled materials. Among all the waste generated 2008-09, 55% was recycled
and reused whereas the rest portion was used to landfill (Department of the Environment and
Energy, 2019). It is observed that the recovery rates of resources are highest in the regions where
market demand is high for recycled materials. The well-publicised specification is another factor
that supports the recycled products use. Sustainable waste management in Australia is influenced
by the cost of landfill. When the cost is high, the organizations prefer recycling of the materials.
5.0 STEPS TO CONTROL CONSTRUCTION WASTE
National procurement strategies are crucial for controlling construction waste. National
procurement strategies are based on five key principles. The first principle encourages the
stakeholders to adopt strategies which are aimed at avoiding unnecessary consumption of

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materials and managing demand (Department of the Environment and Energy, 2019). The
second principle focuses on enhancing the whole-of-life value of the invested money. The
industry stakeholders are encouraged to choose services and products which impact the
environment to a lesser extent throughout the life cycles in comparison with other services and
products. The third principle focuses on developing the market in Australian and New Zealand to
support sustainable products. It also gives importance to encouraging the industry groups and the
businesses to increase the innovation to achieve sustainable practices. The fourth principle also
aims at market development to increase the demand for reused products.
The discussion on the procurement policies indicates that the Australian government is focusing
to enhance sustainability in the construction waste management practices by using the recycle
materials. The procurement policies clearly aimed at reducing consumption. It is helpful for
reducing the amount of generated waste. The policies are also giving importance to increasing
the use of recycled materials by supporting innovation and market development. Recycling is
effective to increase the usability of the materials (Tam and Lu, 2016). Recycling also enhances
the value derived from the raw materials. Therefore, promotion of recycling is also helpful for
increasing sustainability in construction waste management.
6.0 CONCLUSION
Discussion in the research indicates that sustainability in the waste management of the
construction industry in Australia is promoted through recycling. The national procurement
strategy is giving importance to enhancing sustainability by creating the market for recycled
wastes.

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7.0 REFERENCES
Department of the Environment and Energy 2019. Department of the Environment and Energy.
[online] Department of the Environment and Energy. Available at:
https://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/national-waste-policy
[Accessed 2 Jul. 2019].
Department of the Environment and Energy 2019. Department of the Environment and Energy.
[online] Department of the Environment and Energy. Available at:
http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/publications/construction-
and-demolition-waste-status-report [Accessed 2 Jul. 2019].
Park, J., and Tucker, R. 2017. Overcoming barriers to the reuse of construction waste material in
Australia: a review of the literature. International Journal of Construction Management, 17(3),
228-237.
Tam, V. and Lu, W., 2016. Construction waste management profiles, practices, and performance:
a cross-jurisdictional analysis in four countries. Sustainability, 8(2), p.190.
Khalfan, M., Noor, M., Maqsood, T., Alshanbri, N. and Sagoo, A., 2015. Perceptions towards
sustainable construction amongst construction contractors in state of Victoria, Australia. Journal
of Economics, Business and Management, 3(10), pp.940-947.