Construction Waste Management Practices in Private and Public projects in Abuja, Nigeria.

Abstract

This research aims to investigate waste management practices in private and public construction projects in Abuja, Nigeria, with a view to improving project performance as well as producing environmentally friendly projects and serving as a guideline for good waste management on sites. There is no database of private building projects executed in the study area, which makes the establishment of a population difficult. Therefore, two professionals each were purposively selected from each of the thirty (30) public and thirty private projects visited in the study area. The study utilized closed-ended questionnaires and adopted both descriptive and inferential methods of analysis. The findings classified factors contributing to waste generation on construction sites into four categories; procurement, handing, operation, and cultural factors. Damages due to transportation (MIS = 3.70) are identified as the most important overall factor contributing to waste generation on construction sites. This was followed by rework, variation, and negligence (MIS = 3.62). The Pearson Chi-square statistic (f)=1.833a p-value=0.400 (p 0.05) yielded this result. This shows that the variables are interdependent, implying that there is a statistically significant difference in the amount of trash created in private and public building projects. Based on the findings of this research, it is concluded that proper waste management practices in private and public construction projects when adhered to help in improving project performance, as well as producing environmentally friendly projects and serving as a guideline for good waste management on sites. The study recommends based on challenges, that professional bodies should work with university bodies so as to inculcate sustainable building education into their various academic curricula.