Exploring critical success factors for waste management in construction projects of China

The enormous amount of construction activity in China associated with its rapid economic development has produced a large amount of construction and demolition (C&D) waste over the past three decades. The majority of this waste has not been well processed, which has led to severe damage to the environment. Although there is clearly a need for better C&D waste management (WM) in China, the best ways to achieve this have yet to be fully explored. This paper is based on a study by the authors that aimed to identify the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for C&D WM in China. A questionnaire survey and 14 semi-structured interviews with practitioners, researchers and government officials were conducted in Shenzhen, a leading city in southern China for tackling C&D WM. Seven factors were identified as the CSFs for managing C&D waste: (1) WM regulations, (2) waste management system (WMS), (3) awareness of C&D WM, (4) low-waste building technologies, (5) fewer design changes, (6) research and development in WM, and (7) vocational training in WM. These CSFs can serve as valuable references for stakeholders to develop effective C&D WM strategies. The research also adds to the knowledge on how to reduce adverse environmental impacts caused by construction activities in rapidly developing economies.