Factors driving waste sorting in construction projects in China

Abstract

As many stakeholders are involved in the management of construction projects, many factors affect the reduction and recycling of construction waste. To explore these influencing factors, we conducted a literature review to analyze the driving factors that affect the behavior of construction professionals towards construction waste sorting (CWS). From this analysis, we derived hypotheses about the impact mechanism of each index and used questionnaires and interviews and the AMOS structural equation model to test these hypotheses. The results show the following:(1) The driving factors of attitude, subjective norms, group norms, and group efficacy of construction professionals significantly affect CWS. The amount of construction waste can be reduced by strengthening publicity and education and by implementing incentive-based policies for CWS at construction sites. (2) Trust in CWS and the recycling behavior of other personnel significantly affects the attitude and behaviors of construction professionals, which indicates that promoting the use of recycled materials in construction projects is an effective measure to promote waste reduction. (3) Perceived behavioral control, coercive pressure, and mimetic pressure on the behavioral intention path of construction professionals' waste sorting were not significant at the level of 0.05, which is related to their background and experiences in the Chinese construction industry, where there might be a low level of construction management and imperfect CWS facilities at the construction site. (4) Interviews revealed a knowledge gap between workers' and managers’ behavioral awareness in developing countries such as China and India; construction companies should properly manage temporary workers on construction sites. This can provide a theoretical basis for the government to issue construction waste management policies and provide targeted guidance and suggestions for senior decision makers, managers, and technicians of related enterprises.