Innovations in Construction Waste Management: Case of Latvia

Construction waste generated during the construction, renovation and demolition process occupies huge landfills due to significant volumes.

by Tatjana Tambovceva, Valentina Urbane, Janis Ievins

Abstract

The environmental concern has become the top trend nowadays and the ideas of environmental protection, green orientation and green innovation, highly concern from the last few decades in all research areas. The construction industry is one of those that has a very strong impact on the environment. Air, water, noise and vibration, as well as soil pollution caused during construction processes, negatively impact on the environment and its natural ecosystems, as well as on humans at a global level. Construction waste generated during the construction, renovation and demolition process occupies huge landfills due to significant volumes. It may also contain substances that are hazardous to the environment and human health. This paper summarizes the research results on the possibilities for more efficient construction waste management as well as the experience of companies operating in the construction sector with a purpose to reduce the causes of pollution. The data obtained within the framework of the survey on people’s understanding in the field of construction pollution and waste in Latvia have been analyzed. The main goal of the study is to present the main findings of the authors’ survey and to discuss the current construction waste management challenges and potential innovations in Latvia. The authors used the following research methods: literature review, analysis of statistical data; questionnaire creation and conduction a survey; interviews with waste management companies. The research was conducted during the period from October 2019 to July 2020. The obtained results showed that there was a huge potential for innovation because the current situation was far from ideal. The results of an empirical analysis demonstrated that the collection of sorted construction waste on construction sites currently was practically impossible, as the industry points to the human factor in the waste sorting process. Although the data obtained within the framework of the survey clearly indicated the interest of employees in sorting construction waste already on the construction site, waste industry companies currently consider such a practice impossible also due to the influence of other side factors related to economic considerations. It is necessary to develop a normative framework for the implementation of the construction waste certification system to promote the reuse of construction waste in construction as efficiently as possible.

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published: Sumy State University, 8|2022
Keywords: Landfilling, Construction Waste, Latvia