Developing a quantitative construction waste estimation model for building construction projects

• Determination of the most significant kinds of construction waste.
• Tracking the origins of waste streams from different components.
• Identification of construction waste by type and waste categories.
• Enhancing estimation accuracy through levels of detail and experts’ knowledge.

Construction and demolition waste is a major source of urban solid waste, frequently accounting for 10–30% of the total waste disposed of at landfills in many cities around the world. There is a recognized need to manage the construction waste in order to maintain a sustainable environment. The successful implementation of construction waste management depends on a number of factors. One critical factor is the need to accurately estimate waste generated from construction projects. In this regard, this paper proposes a quantitative construction waste estimation model for building construction projects, which can enhance the accuracy in the estimation of construction waste at the project level. In the development of this model, a theoretical analysis of the construction process and the construction waste generation process has been conducted. Specifically, this model integrates the mass balance principle, work breakdown structure, material quantity takeoff, conversion ratios between different waste measurement units, and the wastage levels of various materials used in different work packages. The proposed model is able to predict the quantities of various kinds of construction waste from a building project, to track the origin of construction waste (i.e., from which work package a particular kind of waste is generated and how much) and to help contractors investigate the potential improvements for waste management. An illustrative example is provided to demonstrate the application of this quantitative construction waste estimation model.