Conceptual framework for renovation waste management based on renovation waste generation rates in residential buildings: An empirical study in China

Abstract

Renovation of residential buildings is very common in China. Parallel to the renovations, a significant of renovation waste is generated, majority of which end up in landfills posing significant environmental and health hazards. Approximately up to 7.5 million tons of renovation waste is generated annually in China, yet, there is a clear lack of research on renovation waste management. A framework to manage the renovation waste is highly desired. Hence, this research aims to develop a conceptual framework for renovation waste management based on the renovation waste generation rates (RWGRs). Initially, the renovation waste is classified into the five phases of renovation waste generation. The five phases are, ‘layout transformation’, ‘installation engineering’, ‘mason engineering’, ‘carpentry engineering’ and ‘paint engineering’. Once the conceptual framework is developed, it was necessary to quantify the RWGRs. Renovation waste estimation was done on-site by sorting and weighing. It is found that the renovation waste is mainly contributed by concrete blocks, bricks, timber and ceramic tiles. The results obtained from the research study reports that the RWGRs vary between 15.65 kg/m2 and 25.98 kg/m2. The highest RWGRs are reported in ‘layout transformation’ phase. The ‘paint engineering’ phase generates a comparatively small amount, yet toxic waste. The research provides significant insights to developers, project managers, site managers and all the professional working with renovation waste in developing a waste management framework based on the RWGRs.