INGENIEUR
COVER FEATURE
REDUCING
REFURBISHMENT WASTE
GENERATION IN MALAYSIA
By
Siti Nazziera Mokhtar, Noor Zalina Mahmood
Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya
Che Rosmani Che Hassan
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya
Sivapalan Kathiravale, Shanmuga Kittappa, Noor Mohd Syeqqal Ismail,
Environmental Preservation and Innovation Centre Sdn Bhd (EPIC)
Haji Razuki Haji Ibrahim, Hj. Mohd Khairolden Ghani, Maria Zura Mohd Zain
Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM)
Zuhairi Abd Hamid, Khairul Nizam Anuar Bashah
Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB)
The refurbishment trend has become
a common and demanding activity in
the construction industry in Malaysia.
Nevertheless, only a limited number of studies
have been undertaken and there is a famine
of literature on the refurbishment of wastes in
new construction, refurbishment and demolition
works in the country. Begum et. al have reported
that most of the publications are related to the
perspective of Malaysia’s construction industry
focusing on qualitative approaches such as,
contractor’s attitude, behaviour and waste
management practices.
The construction industry produces large
amounts of wastes, equivalent to four times
the household output and more than 50% of
wastes is dumped in landfills. Furthermore, it is
hard to eliminate the generation of construction
and demolitions (C &D) waste from construction
activities. Waste generated during the lifecycle of
buildings, construction, maintenance, renovation,
refurbishment, restoration and demolition has
become a serious environmental problem globally.
Therefore, to avoid and reduce refurbishment
waste generation, the root causes and factors
that may influence waste generation need to be
identified. The main objective of this article is to
identify the causes and factors influencing waste
generation on-site during the refurbishment
processes.
Currently, the trend of refurbishment is
becoming a popular activity in the nation’s
construction industry and it is expected to
grow in the years to come. The consequence of
increasing numbers of refurbishment projects
will directly increase the amount of waste,
and material wastage from refurbishment
works. This is an important issue that needs
to be addressed by identifying the causes
and the factors influencing the generation of
refurbishment waste in order to find the right
methods or ways to minimise construction
waste generation before any refurbishment work
starts. In addition, through identifying the factors
and causes, construction industry players
can avoid and be alert to the ways in which
waste is generated for future refurbishment
projects. Hence, it will provide great benefits
to the country in terms of economic, social and
environmental protection.
18 VOL 82 APRIL-JUNE 2020