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Increased disposal costs and reduction in number of landfills have created a need for implementing effective waste management in the construction industry. As every construction project is unique in its way of development, benefits from the waste management may also differ from project to project and thus project characteristics should be taken into consideration when implementing the strategy. This study seeks to investigate how different project characteristics affect perception on benefits, from construction waste management, based on the survey results from 66 industry experts.

A literature review was conducted to gather information on project characteristics and its classification, construction waste management, waste management plan and its benefits. Subsequently, a set of questions was formulated to gain insight and opinion on the selection of project characteristics and particular benefits of construction waste management. A set of questions pertaining to different project characteristics linked with benefits of waste management was sent to each of the personnel for their views.

The results of this study establishes that the key materials used in projects, project size in terms of total installed costs, and project type have perceptual impacts on benefits from construction waste management.

Understanding how project characteristics will affect the benefits can help the construction industry to identify projects to which the waste management should first be applied, maximizing its benefits.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the medical waste management practices of a hospital in Southern Africa.

A case study methodology was utilised.

The results revealed that the hospital does not quantify medical waste. Segregation of medical waste into infectious waste and non‐infectious waste is not conducted according to definite rules and standards. Separation of medical waste and municipal waste is however practiced to a satisfactory extent. Wheeled trolleys are used for on‐site transportation of waste. Off‐site transportation of waste is outsourced to a private firm. Incineration is used in the final disposal of infectious waste. Non‐infectious waste is disposed using land disposal method. There is no policy and plan in place for managing medical waste. A number of problems were identified with respect to medical waste management.

The paper gives recommendations with the aim of improving medical waste management in hospitals.

With rapid industrialization and urbanization, municipal solid waste (MSW) management has become a serious challenge worldwide, especially in developing countries. The Beijing Municipality is a representative example of many local governments in China that are facing MSW management issues. Although there have been studies in the area of MSW management in the literature, less attention has been devoted to developing a structured framework that identifies and interprets the barriers to MSW management in megacities, especially in Beijing. Therefore, this study focuses on identifying a comprehensive list of barriers affecting the successful implementation of MSW management in Beijing.

Through an extensive review of related literature, 12 barriers are identified and classified into five categories: government, waste, knowledge dissemination, MSW management process and market. Using an integrated approach including the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), maximum mean de-entropy algorithm (MMDE) and interpretive structural modeling (ISM), a conceptual structural model of MSW implementation barriers is constructed to provide insights for industrial decision-makers and policymakers.

The results show that a lack of economic support from the government, imperfect MSW-related laws and regulations, the low education of residents and the lack of publicity of waste recycling knowledge are the main barriers to MSW management in Beijing. Combined with expert opinions, the paper provides suggestions and guidance to municipal authorities and industry practitioners to guide the successful implementation of MSW management.

The findings of this study can provide a reference for MSW management in other metropolises in China and other developing countries.

This study proposes a hybrid DEMATEL-MMDE-ISM approach to resolve the subjectivity issues of the traditional ISM approach and it analyzes the barriers that hinder MSW management practices in Beijing.

The purpose of this paper is to formulate frameworks for the drivers and barriers of integrated sustainable solid waste management (ISSWM) with reference to conditions prevailing in India.

A multi-phased approach was adopted in this paper to come up with the conceptual framework of the drivers and barriers of ISSWM. In the first phase, drivers and barriers of ISSWM were identified based on a systematic literature review process. In the second phase, 25 experts having 15 plus years of experience in the field of sustainable development and environmental management were consulted to get their opinion. Validation and understanding of the interrelationship among the selected drivers and barriers were done based on the insights from expert interviews. And in the final phase, structural self-interaction matrix and transitive links are defined based on the expert opinion to come up with the theoretical frameworks of drivers and barriers of ISSWM.

Findings reveal the importance to have a system view point approach by giving equal importance to social, environmental and economic pillars of sustainability along with the technology component to effectively and sustainably manage the solid waste disposal. Institutional effectiveness and the robust policy and frameworks are the two variables found to have the highest driving power. Poor social values and ethics, huge population and illiteracy are the three most critical barriers faced by developing nations in achieving the sustainability practices in the solid waste management. The proposed frameworks of drivers and barriers of ISSWM will definitely help policy makers to effectively manage the sustainable waste management practices for developing economies by focusing on the key variables listed out.

One of the limitations is in the use of very limited sample size in the study. Another limitation is that total interpretive structural modeling fails to come up with the relative weightings of drivers and barriers used in the study. These limitations can be overcome by extending the research by using a semi-structured questionnaire survey with higher sample size for the empirical validation of the model.

This research will help to clearly understand the framework of drivers and barriers of variables and their hierarchical level based on the driving power and dependence. Since such articles focusing on the conceptual frameworks of drivers and barriers of ISSWM are found to be very scant, this paper will equally help academicians and waste management professionals to understand the concepts deeply, by getting answers to the fundamental questions of “what,” “why” and “how.” Developed framework of drivers explicitly shows the need to attain financial stability through the commercialization of the waste management initiatives, which will help to reduce burden on various governmental institutions. Commercialization opportunities will also help to have more successful start-up ventures in solid waste management domain that can provide improved employment opportunities and hygiene environment in the developing nations like India.

Based on the authors’ best knowledge, there is hardly any article that explicitly explains the conceptual frameworks of the drivers and barriers of ISSWM by considering the conditions prevailing in developing countries like India. And thus, this can be considered as one of the unique research attempts to build a clear conceptual framework of ISSWM. The study contributes significantly to the existing literature body by clearly interpreting the interrelationships and the driving power and dependence of variables of ISSWM.

This paper aims to analyse the factors influencing refurbishment site managers’ waste management efforts.

Twenty-seven semi-structured interviews were held with managers from two large contractors involved in housing and office refurbishment projects in Sweden. Also, a web and postal questionnaire survey was sent to 232 refurbishment site managers and received a 34 per cent response rate.

Site managers devise waste management strategies based on environmental inventories and project size. In smaller projects, waste contractors are employed only for physical activities rather than providing advice. Site managers’ waste management efforts are influenced by project-related factors, organizational and personal factors, technical factors, industry culture and legislation. The level of contract detail, specific client demands related to waste management and project size are important factors.

Policies and guidelines for projects of different sizes should be developed at least for large contractors; scale influences site managers’ waste strategies. Waste management efforts in refurbishment projects can be improved by addressing simple technical problems including providing clear labelling of containers and ensuring shelter from rain and snow.

This is a pioneer survey of refurbishment site manager opinions and practices. Inefficient waste management in building refurbishment projects can be costly and harmful to the environment. There are many opportunities to improve waste management efforts.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the drivers of healthcare waste management from literature review and field survey and model these drivers for understanding the inter-relationships among the drivers to enhance healthcare waste management in the Indian context.

In view of the need of the study, the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) method has been applied to model the drivers. The ISM method helps in depicting the relationships among the drivers and filtration of drivers on the basis of their driving and dependence power.

The findings of the study reveal that the type of a healthcare facility and its management structure, size of a healthcare facility, human resource management of a healthcare facility, healthcare facility’s management monitoring and control, and the effective re-enforcement of government regulation and policy implementation in a healthcare facility play a vital role in the enhancement of HCWM.

The application of the findings of this study would enhance the hospital’s waste management by ultimately leading to a good ambience and satisfied patients and personnels. Additionally, the study would aid in the policy formulation by government and decision making of medical facilities, thereby strengthening HCWM scenario in the country.

The drivers filtered in this study would be useful for ranking the hospitals’ healthcare waste management in a region/country. This ranking may play a vital role in earmarking the hospitals which are managing their healthcare waste according to the guidelines of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) of a country. With the help of this study, the problem of inadequate human resource can be effectively addressed for CPCB and MoEF, in India.

Healthcare waste management is a vital issue which needs attention from the management perspective in India. Therefore, an interpretive structural model, i.e. ISM digraph, has been developed which would help in the filtration of drivers and attaining the better healthcare waste management in an economically and timely manner.

The construction industry’s contribution to environmental deterioration is widely established in the literature, implying that addressing this issue will require a coordinated effort from all stakeholders. According to literature, stakeholder involvement without stakeholder management (SKM) is not enough, in ensuring efficient construction waste management (CWM). This study investigates the impact of SKM on efficient CWM by aggregating all relevant SKM variables and measuring their degree of influence on efficient CWM.

This study used a four-stage research approach that included a literature review, a pilot study, a questionnaire survey and statistical analysis. After a thorough examination of the literature, nine essential SKM factors were identified and tested by a questionnaire survey following a pilot study. A total of 310 questionnaires were filled out and returned for analysis (exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis).

The study established that SKM is a unidimensional construct since all the variables extracted unto one underlying component with total variance explained (TVE), accounting for 58.938% of the total Variance in the measure of SKM in efficient CWM. Additionally, the reliability and validity test results satisfied the recommended thresholds, thus justifying the factorability of the construct. Furthermore, the hypothesis test revealed that SKM has a statistically significant impact on efficient CWM, implying that increasing SKM will have a beneficial impact on efficient CWM.

The study is limited to material waste management in the construction industry and the outcome was determined solely by a field survey in Ghana. Extending the study to other jurisdictions would have improved its findings and made them easier to generalise.

The study’s findings are helpful for practitioners and researchers, especially regarding the influence of the eight SKM variables on efficient CWM.

The study’s findings will reduce pollution, thus enhancing public health and encouraging social inclusion through the creation of jobs in the waste management chain.

The uniqueness of this study is anchored on the fact that no CWM study has considered all the eight SKM variables measured in this study at the same time. Also, this study has contributed to the literature by establishing the determinants of SKM in efficient CWM in Ghana.

This paper aims to explore current sustainable facilities management knowledge and practice, focussing specifically on sustainable waste management implementation in health-care facilities with an aim to conceptualize a framework for assessing performance and impact of successful implementation of safe and sustainable health-care waste management on health-care provision.

This paper used a review of existing literature in relation to health-care waste management in the context of sustainable facilities management and facilities management performance and forms a basis for further research.

The growing significance of the strategic role of facilities management is established. Building on this recognition, a conceptual framework for assessing both implementation of sustainable facilities management practice in the context of waste management in health-care facilities and its impact on health-care provision is proposed.

This paper conceptualizes a framework for optimizing safe and sustainable waste management implementation in health-care facilities and assessing its impact on the bottom-line of health-care provision.

Despite legislation in place, there is still a gap in knowledge and awareness of the communities on the issues of e-waste handling and management. It is important to understand the knowledge and awareness levels of the consumers of electronic products who ultimately become the generators of e-waste in a community. The current study is based on a survey conducted in an urban setting to understand people's perception about the genesis of issues related to e-waste and its management. The purpose of this paper is to study the findings that could help in designing customized awareness programmes for addressing this concern more effectively.

A survey was conducted in Delhi to understand public knowledge and awareness related to e-waste management in the city and country. A limited random survey was conducted with a sample size of 400 individuals in Delhi from middle class belonging to different educational backgrounds and professions. Personal interview method was used to collect in-depth information related to the issues of e-waste and its management. A questionnaire was developed and pilot tested before actual start of the survey. The questionnaire consisted of two sections – first about baseline information related to their age, family size, family income and educational background and second on their knowledge and awareness regarding e-waste and its management. Also, the practices they followed regarding e-waste at their household level were enquired. The questionnaire consisted of both open-ended and close-ended questions. Most of the questions had multiple-choice options, which made it easy for the respondents to answer them appropriately. The open-ended question gave the respondents ample time and space to express their views. The open-ended questions besides strengthening the close-ended questions provided a lot of qualitative information and made the study interesting. Apart from just interviewing, informal interactions were also used as a tool for data collection. During the course of the study, informal interactions were done with respondents to familiarize them with the objectives of the present study, their role and benefits to them from the study.

The present study aimed to gauge the awareness levels and practices of people regarding e-waste management. The survey conducted in Delhi revealed that significant fraction of middle-class population is still unaware of the issue; however, on getting the information they were able to link the impacts of improper management of e-waste with detrimental health outcomes. For those who knew about it, the main sources of information to them were found to be internet, and print media. However, despite some awareness about the issue, most respondents were totally unaware about correct ways of its recycling and management. An important finding of the study was that 12-26 per cent people replace their major electronic goods like refrigerators, food processors, personal computers and music systems within the first three years of purchase. Discarding products within their periods of useful lives leads to enhanced generation of e-wastes. Along with e-waste generation, this also puts additional stress over the resources used for manufacturing of these products. On management of e-waste, most of the respondents opined of need of having efficient recycling units and effective mass awareness programmes. The survey also revealed the willingness of users to pay extra cost for proper management of e-waste provided that there is proper cost sharing between consumers and producers. This also raises an important aspect of extended producer responsibility (EPR). EPR puts additional responsibility and onus on the manufacturer of the product to not only produce durable quality of products but also take back the obsolete products and manage the e-waste. This also means that the manufacturers will have to use recyclable material in manufacturing of new products for economic management of e-waste at the later stage. Although, in Indian context it would be a challenge to implement the concept of EPR, especially with the active informal sector. The respondents quite adequately put equal responsibilities on the government, consumers and producers for effective e-waste management. The study clearly highlights the issues perceived by the middle-class population of Delhi and can be replicated in other major cities for re-authentication of the facts. The study could prove to be important in designing awareness programme related to the issue.

This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey-based study that was employed to understand the perception of a sample of respondents. Analysis of the data reveals that the knowledge on the issue of e-waste is minimal and requires massive awareness drives for senitization.

This study aims to analyze reform path for waste management policy implementation. With reference to the Bayesian theory, this study provides a dynamic policy conversion method through various context settings. Furthermore, this study attempts to present an empirical research paradigm.

Matland’s “ambiguity-conflict model” is applied to explain the problems and reform paths of China’s waste management policy implementation. Integrating structure discovery and bibliometrics into qualitative analysis, this study used search data from literature search engine with specific themes to achieve structure learning of Bayesian network with key factors refined in waste management policy.

The results show that China’s waste management policy implementation belongs to symbolic implementation with high ambiguity and high conflict. Four basic conversion paths for the waste management policy are proposed, which are classified by length and stability. Then, it is possible to locate the factors, paths and types of policy implementation through involvement analysis with features of each path and each district of policy implementation. Public education holds direct but unstable impact on waste management. Economic incentives hold continuous but gradually diminishing impact. Perceived policy effectiveness plays the crucial role like a central bridge. Resident conditions have a positive impact, which could be enhanced through economic development of China. The impact of subjective norm on waste management is not significant. But subjective norm has the potential breakthrough for solving stagnation of waste classification policy. However, the impacts from each factor may change along with economy growth and technology innovation.

This study uses the “ambiguity-conflict model” to position China’s waste classification policy and suggests that structure discovery methods help understand feasible reform paths for reform policy. The integration of theoretical analysis and quantitative simulation can achieve a comprehensive analysis of problems and solutions in waste management policy implementation of China. Promotion and education, economic incentives, perceived value, behavior control, subjective norm, perceived policy effectiveness, informal waste recycling system and residential conditions are explored as key factors for waste classification policy implementation as a representative in waste management policy. The role of each key factor and features of each conversion paths are integrated to position reform paths in the ambiguity-conflict model. This work helps to explain the stagnation of waste management policy implementation from the perspective of dynamic structure evolution, and some specific suggestions to get out of stagnation are proposed.