Page 81 - GRIHA Manual Volume IV - Introduction to National Rating System
P. 81
72 Griha Manual: Volume 4
The concept of ‘de-construction’ or the practice of disassembling a building piece-by-piece, so that each extracted component is reused
in another building (of a lower quality / budget), perhaps has been a common practice in India. As a result, items such as woodwork,
bricks, reinforcement, piping, electrical wiring, plumbing ixtures, and so on is salvaged and sold. What remains is often unmanageable
or of no major or minor economic value, such as concrete rubble, which due to illegal dumping threatens the environment today.
Points to be noted
2
# Estimated waste generation during construction: 40–60 kg/m
# Estimated waste generation during renovation / repair work: 40–50 kg/m 2
# Estimated waste generated during demolition of pucca buildings: 500 kg/m
2
# Estimated waste generated during semi-pucca buildings: 300 kg/m 2
Debris, waste plastic pieces, and demolition waste laid over the site destroy topsoil. Polythene and
plastics lead to choking of drains. Often, hazardous gases are released on burning of waste materials
on site. Chemical admixtures, sealants, adhesives solvents, among others, which should never be
burnt are set aflame to reduce removal costs.
Hazardous waste not managed and disposed off properly leads to additional threats to health.
Besides, the huge quantity of construction and demolition waste going to the landfills places
additional burden on the landfill space, which is already constricted in the Indian cities.
This seriously affects the health of all personnel exposed to the construction site. The labourers
are most affected by various diseases, and all other people exposed for shorter intervals also are
at threat. Some of these ill-effects can be avoided by proper handling and storage of construction
waste. Some of the most common causes for such waste generation include the following.
# Over consumption of resources
# Composite and deep design of buildings
# Material damage on site due to mishandling and/or careless delivery
# Material damage due to weather and inappropriate storage
# Rework/change in design/improvement in quality of work
# Poor recording of material supplied and used on site
# Excess material left from site preparation and after finishing the job
Solutions
Therefore, reuse and recycling are important strategies for management of such waste. Apart from
various problems of waste management, some of the reasons, which support adoption of reuse/
recycling strategy are as follows.
# Reduced extraction of raw materials
# Transportation cost
# Improved profits and reduced environmental impact.
Besides, the fast depleting reserves of conventional natural aggregate has necessitated the use
of recycling/ reuse technology to conserve the conventional natural aggregate for other usage.
The best solution for reduction of construction waste on-site is to ensure that adequate measures
are adopted during the design stage of the building itself. By avoiding a few common practices, a lot
may be achieved to make construction extremely economical for all the stakeholders. For instance,
# Avoiding designs that require more material than necessary. For example, over specification of
the material quantities for beams or columns
The concept of ‘de-construction’ or the practice of disassembling a building piece-by-piece, so that each extracted component is reused
in another building (of a lower quality / budget), perhaps has been a common practice in India. As a result, items such as woodwork,
bricks, reinforcement, piping, electrical wiring, plumbing ixtures, and so on is salvaged and sold. What remains is often unmanageable
or of no major or minor economic value, such as concrete rubble, which due to illegal dumping threatens the environment today.
Points to be noted
2
# Estimated waste generation during construction: 40–60 kg/m
# Estimated waste generation during renovation / repair work: 40–50 kg/m 2
# Estimated waste generated during demolition of pucca buildings: 500 kg/m
2
# Estimated waste generated during semi-pucca buildings: 300 kg/m 2
Debris, waste plastic pieces, and demolition waste laid over the site destroy topsoil. Polythene and
plastics lead to choking of drains. Often, hazardous gases are released on burning of waste materials
on site. Chemical admixtures, sealants, adhesives solvents, among others, which should never be
burnt are set aflame to reduce removal costs.
Hazardous waste not managed and disposed off properly leads to additional threats to health.
Besides, the huge quantity of construction and demolition waste going to the landfills places
additional burden on the landfill space, which is already constricted in the Indian cities.
This seriously affects the health of all personnel exposed to the construction site. The labourers
are most affected by various diseases, and all other people exposed for shorter intervals also are
at threat. Some of these ill-effects can be avoided by proper handling and storage of construction
waste. Some of the most common causes for such waste generation include the following.
# Over consumption of resources
# Composite and deep design of buildings
# Material damage on site due to mishandling and/or careless delivery
# Material damage due to weather and inappropriate storage
# Rework/change in design/improvement in quality of work
# Poor recording of material supplied and used on site
# Excess material left from site preparation and after finishing the job
Solutions
Therefore, reuse and recycling are important strategies for management of such waste. Apart from
various problems of waste management, some of the reasons, which support adoption of reuse/
recycling strategy are as follows.
# Reduced extraction of raw materials
# Transportation cost
# Improved profits and reduced environmental impact.
Besides, the fast depleting reserves of conventional natural aggregate has necessitated the use
of recycling/ reuse technology to conserve the conventional natural aggregate for other usage.
The best solution for reduction of construction waste on-site is to ensure that adequate measures
are adopted during the design stage of the building itself. By avoiding a few common practices, a lot
may be achieved to make construction extremely economical for all the stakeholders. For instance,
# Avoiding designs that require more material than necessary. For example, over specification of
the material quantities for beams or columns
