Recent research indicates that construction costs in Australia have been rising at an inconsistent rate over the past few years. This has left building managers with the challenge of identifying areas where they can cut costs and make savings. With Australia generating more than 48 million tonnes of solid waste, construction waste presents one of the primary areas where managers can make quick but significant savings. Besides saving on costs, proper waste management can also increase efficiency across the entire construction process. Here are some of the practical ways that managers can save time and money on waste management amidst the hiking building costs.

Assess Construction Materials

Construction projects involve the use of various materials, some of which can be reused or recycled. Managers should focus on these reusable materials, and particularly those whose recovery rates can be driven up to generate more cost savings. Waste recovery refers to operations that involve replacing non-waste materials that would have been used for construction purposes with a waste material that performs the same task. It preserves resources and cuts down on construction costs. For instance, materials such as packaging and timber have high recovery rates, and one can optimize them even further to reduce waste on the site.

Segregate Construction Waste

Failure to categorize waste correctly often leads to more materials ending up in the landfills which could have been reused or recycled. How can one come up with a functional waste segregation policy on their construction site? First, create a secure on-site waste disposal area with provisions such as skip bins, wheeled bins and garbage bags. You can have the skips or bags labeled so that workers can dispose of reusable materials in one and those that will go to the landfill in another. Doing this increases the repurposing rates on the site and lowers the cost of disposing and managing waste.

Manage Unnecessary Procedures

Certain practices on construction sites often lead to excessive wastage of material and consequent financial losses. For instance, over-ordering certain materials will result in wastage unless there are proper systems to ensure the excess ones are returned to the supplier. Similarly, purchasing materials in larger sizes increases offcut levels. Managers should plan appropriately to determine the right quantities for materials. Additionally, they should also strive to make standard-size purchases to reduce offcut levels.

There is a need to educate construction workers on the benefits of proper waste management, reusing and recycling techniques. With the entire team on board, any plans to reduce waste and cut associated costs will be successfully implemented.