Waste minimisation in office refurbishment projects : an Australian perspective

The refurbishment of commercial buildings is growing as a percentage of overall construction activity in Australia and this trend is likely to continue. Refurbishment generates a significant waste stream much of which is potentially reusable or recyclable. Despite this potential, several factors are known to inhibit the amount of recycling that actually occurs on renovation projects. In order to identify the reasons causing this reluctance, a process of monitoring a project and consultation with experts in the area was carried out. Twenty three experts experienced in commercial refurbishment projects and three waste contractors with specific knowledge of construction waste were interviewed. Waste receipts for an ongoing case study project were monitored. Three major factors were found to inhibit recycling rates: the presence of any form of asbestos in the building; the continued occupation of the building during construction; and the breaking up of a large project into small separate contracts for different stages of the refurbishment so that there were no economies of scale for the contractor who wanted to recycle. Current rates for reuse and recycling of materials were collected from the experts. The results revealed a considerable variation in practice between companies and indicated areas which should be targeted to improve performance.