A model for assessing the economic performance of construction waste reduction

Abstract

Although a plethora of research has been conducted to investigate the economic performance of construction waste (CW) management, the vast majority of studies have concentrated on the economic feasibility of CW recycling, while ignoring the economic performance of CW reduction strategies and measures. Moreover, previous studies mostly focused on one specific waste stage for waste reduction, failing to envisage dynamic interactions among various factors inherent in different waste management stages including waste generation, on-site reduction, and waste disposal, which inevitably affects the effectiveness of implementing those management strategies. To address these research gaps, this study developed a system dynamics model to investigate the economic performance of CW reduction. The model is constructed based on the interrelationships of major factors affecting the economic performance of CW reduction and comprises three subsystems covering waste generation and disposal, waste reduction, and economic performance assessment. Data from a residential building project were used for model validation and simulation. The findings reveal four strategies to effectively promote the economic performance of CW reduction, including: enhancing waste sorting, reducing illegal dumping behaviors, promoting government's financial subsidy on waste recycling, and raising waste landfilling charge. Furthermore, model simulations inform that combining different waste reduction strategies could result in better outcomes than a single measure regarding CW reduction. This study is significant in revealing the interrelationships of factors affecting the economic performance of CW reduction. Meanwhile, the results are helpful for designing policies to improve CW reduction practice.