Project grant to investigate challenges for managing waste in construction
Professor Peter Davis, Chair, Construction Management at UON will lead a team who aim to challenge existing waste management strategies in construction.
Awarded a $146, 292 NSW Environmental Trust Environmental Research grant, Professor Peter Davis will work with Associate Professor Willy Sher and Dr Warren Reilly to evaluate existing strategies and develop a theoretical model to substantially reduce unsorted waste materials leaving construction sites.
Currently construction in Australia produces more than 19 million tonnes of waste per annum – 45 per cent of which is deposited directly in landfill.
This results in increased energy consumption, contamination, landfill reliance and depletion of new finite resources.
Peter says that the focus on waste management in the construction industry is way overdue and is bound to become an essential practice. “It won’t be too long before waste management becomes an integral part of procedure in the same way that safety is applied to contemporary practice in construction management,” Peter said.
New benchmarking processes are required to deal with this issue and these could include baggage handling technologies and “Uber” type logistics.
Commencing in 2017, the project aims to overhaul existing strategies to make them more environmentally-friendly and cost-effective for Industry.
Only eight grants were awarded by the NSW Environmental Trust from 187 applicants in a strongly competitive field.
Direct Industry supporters of this project include: Hansen Yuncken, Veolia, Cross Connections Consulting, Brookfield Multiplex and PSG Holdings.
Professor Davis would also like to thank Lend Lease and John Holland for their support.
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