Construction Waste Management Practices And Performance Of Housing And Water Projects In Nairobi City County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

The increase of construction activities due to development in developing countries increases the generation of construction waste. Effective waste management services can save business money and benefit the environment at the same time. However, the Nairobi City County faces many challenges to manage construction waste disposal such as insufficiently stringent legislation, poor enforcement, inadequate facilities and collection network, low public awareness and lack of capacity and negligent behaviour of local contractors due to lack of proper construction waste control and monitoring by the Nairobi City County. This study sought to investigate the influence of construction waste management practices on the performance of housing and water projects in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study sought to establish how project design, procurement, material handling and reuse, reduce, recycle practices influences housing and water projects. A descriptive survey research design was used. 95 housing and water construction projects formed the target population. A census of 285 respondents was carried out. Questionnaire was used to collect primary data. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics such as correlation analysis and regression analysis. The study established that project design, material handling, procurement and reuse, recycle and reduce practices had a positive and significant effects on the performance of housing and water projects. The study concludes that project design strengthens the owner’s control of the entire design process and minimizes the risks in finance by contracting with a single firm that is unconditionally committed to the success of the project. Procurement helps the organization maintain quality and consistency, effectively, drive compliance and manage risk. Materials handling ensures that the right quality and quantity of materials are appropriately selected, purchased, delivered and handled on site in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost. Reuse, recycle and reduce practices are vital part in any waste management strategy because they help reduce waste handling and disposal costs, by avoiding the cost of recycling, land filling and combustion. The study recommends that Waste prevention and reduction in the design phases, project design should focus on reuse and recycling, waste-efficient procurement, materials optimization, off-site construction; and deconstruction and flexibility. Prospective contractors should be required in their tenders to indicate the likely waste recovery targets and key performance indicators that can be achieved on the project given the stage of the design. Government should introduce specific legislation governing the handling and disposal of construction wastes and follow up with strict monitoring to ensure compliance. The most effective environmental solution may often be to reduce the generation of waste and the amount of waste created using waste prevention measures. Re-use materials to avoid waste being created and where further reduction is not practicable, products and materials can sometimes be re-used, either for the same or a different purpose. Recycle materials from site where materials cannot be re-used and value should be recovered from waste, through recycling, composting or energy recovery from waste.