Assessment of construction waste management practice: a case study in Costa Rica

Lilliana  Abarca; Ir. F.M.   Scheublin; Hijmen  van Twillert

doi:10.15626/Eco-Tech.2007.007

Authors

Lilliana Abarca Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
Ir. F.M. Scheublin Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
Hijmen van Twillert Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15626/Eco-Tech.2007.007

Keywords:

Construction waste: Waste management; Construction; Construction sector,

Abstract

The construction industry deals with the provision of shelter and infrastructure for a
continuing growing population and urbanization, especially in developing countries, This
sector is well known as a huge consumer of natural resources; which produces a significant
quantity of construction and demolition waste, Data about the situation of construction waste
generation in Costa Rica is scarce and the objectives of the study were to develop a baseline
study to determine quantities and composition of the waste, as well as, motivators and barriers
for achieving a more sustainable activity, This paper draws the findings of the survey
undertaken by means of questionnaires, interviews and site visits, The composition basically
is wood, soil, piping materials, corrugated roof sheets, wires, packaging materials (paper,
plastic and cardboard), cement, concrete, blocks, paints and debris, The amounts (either by
volume or by weight) of these streams are unknown since the majority of the companies don't
keep track of these data, It is suggested a value of I 00 kg/m2 as an educated guess of the
amount of construction waste produced, This high amount, compared to lower values found in
literature for developed countries, could be explained by the general lack of awareness and
information on environmental issues as well as lack of technologies, governmental
enforcement and market incentives to improve the environmental footprint of the sector,

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