Abstract
Due to the rapid pace of urbanization in China, there has been a significant increase in construction work, which has resulted in the generation of more waste. Reducing the waste at source is the most efficient way to reduce its negative impacts, and prefabrication is a construction method that does exactly that. Since prefabricated construction generates less waste compared to conventional cast-in-situ construction, it is being promoted by the Chinese government. This study investigates the benefits of prefabrication and quantifies the percentage of construction waste reduction through its application in China. It does so by using a 26-storey concrete-brick residential building as a case study, and by conducting uncertainty analysis with Oracle Crystal Ball simulation software to assess the reduction of waste when using prefabricated components in place of cast-in-situ elements. Simulation results demonstrated that the waste generation rate for in-situ timber formwork and masonry work was 10.52 and 4.77 kg/m2 respectively, and that the use of prefabricated components reduced those figures by 36.04% and 25.53% respectively. This study quantifies the benefits of prefabrication as a method for reducing the generation of construction waste in China. Not only would extensive use of prefabrication decrease the cost related to construction waste management in China, but it could also mitigate the environmental and social impacts of construction waste globally.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bakchan A, Faust KM (2019) Construction waste generation estimates of institutional building projects: leveraging waste hauling tickets. Waste Manag 87:301–312
Bakshan A, Srour I, Chehab G, El-Fadel M (2015) A field based methodology for estimating waste generation rates at various stages of construction projects. Resour Conserv Recycl 100:70–80
Barbudo A, Ayuso J, Lozano A, Cabrera M, López-Uceda A (2020) Recommendations for the management of construction and demolition waste in treatment plants. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:125–132
Cao X, Li X, Zhu Y, Zhang Z (2015) A comparative study of environmental performance between prefabricated and traditional residential buildings in China. J Clean Prod 109:131–143
Chen Z, An C, Boufadel M, Owens E, Chen Z, Lee K, Cao Y, Cai M (2019) Use of surface-washing agents for the treatment of oiled shorelines: research advancements, technical applications and future challenges. Chem Eng J:123565
Chen Z, An C, Fang H, Zhang Y, Zhou Z, Zhou Y, Zhao S (2020) Assessment of regional greenhouse gas emission from beef cattle production: a case study of Saskatchewan in Canada. J Environ Manag 264:110443
China State Council (2016) Guidance on the development of prefabricated buildings. General Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Construction of Shandong Province (2016) Shandong Province’s consumption quota for building construction
Ding Z, Gong W, Tam VW, Illankoon ICS (2019) Conceptual framework for renovation waste management based on renovation waste generation rates in residential buildings: An empirical study in China. J Clean Prod 228:284–293
Guerra BC, Bakchan A, Leite F, Faust KM (2019) BIM-based automated construction waste estimation algorithms: the case of concrete and drywall waste streams. Waste Manag 87:825–832
Hong J, Shen GQ, Li Z, Zhang B, Zhang W (2018) Barriers to promoting prefabricated construction in China: a cost–benefit analysis. J Clean Prod 172:649–660
Jaillon L, Poon CS (2008) Sustainable construction aspects of using prefabrication in dense urban environment: a Hong Kong case study. Constr Manag Econ 26:953–966
Jaillon L, Poon CS, Chiang Y (2009) Quantifying the waste reduction potential of using prefabrication in building construction in Hong Kong. Waste Manag 29:309–320
Kofoworola OF, Gheewala SH (2009) Estimation of construction waste generation and management in Thailand. Waste Manag 29:731–738
Lau HH, Whyte A, Law P (2008) Composition and characteristics of construction waste generated by residential housing project. Int J Environ Res 2:261–268
Li J, Ding Z, Mi X, Wang J (2013) A model for estimating construction waste generation index for building project in China. Resour Conserv Recycl 74:20–26
Li Z, Shen GQ, Alshawi M (2014) Measuring the impact of prefabrication on construction waste reduction: an empirical study in China. Resour Conserv Recycl 91:27–39
Liu Y, Sun T, Yang L (2017) Evaluating the performance and intellectual structure of construction and demolition waste research during 2000–2016. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24:19259–19266
Liu J, Gong E, Wang D, Lai X, Zhu J (2019) Attitudes and behaviour towards construction waste minimisation: a comparative analysis between China and the USA. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:13681–13690
Lu W, Yuan H (2013) Investigating waste reduction potential in the upstream processes of offshore prefabrication construction. Renew Sust Energ Rev 28:804–811
Lu W, Yuan H, Li J, Hao J, Mi X, Ding Z (2011) An empirical investigation of construction and demolition waste generation rates in Shenzhen city. South China Waste Manag (Oxford) 31:680–687
Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Construction of the People's Republic of China (2016) Consumption quota for prefabricated building construction
National Bureau of Statistics of China (2018) 2018 China statistical yearbook
Nie Z, Yang Z, Fang Y, Yang Y, Tang Z, Wang X, Die Q, Gao X, Zhang F, Wang Q (2015) Environmental risks of HBCDD from construction and demolition waste: a contemporary and future issue. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22:17249–17252
Poon CS, Yu AT, Jaillon L (2004) Reducing building waste at construction sites in Hong Kong. Constr Manag Econ 22:461–470
Solís-Guzmán J, Marrero M, Montes-Delgado MV, Ramírez-de-Arellano A (2009) A Spanish model for quantification and management of construction waste. Waste Manag 29:2542–2548
Sun W, An C, Li G, Lv Y (2014) Applications of inexact programming methods to waste management under uncertainty: current status and future directions. Environ Syst Res 3:15
Tam VW, Hao JJ (2014) Prefabrication as a mean of minimizing construction waste on site. Int J Constr Manag 14:113–121
Tam VW, Tam C, Chan JK, Ng WC (2006) Cutting construction wastes by prefabrication. Int J Constr Manag 6:15–25
Tam VW, Tam CM, Zeng S, Ng WC (2007) Towards adoption of prefabrication in construction. Build Environ 42:3642–3654
Tam VW, Fung IW, Sing MC, Ogunlana SO (2015) Best practice of prefabrication implementation in the Hong Kong public and private sectors. J Clean Prod 109:216–231
Umar UA, Shafiq N, Malakahmad A, Nuruddin MF, Khamidi MF (2017) A review on adoption of novel techniques in construction waste management and policy. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 19:1361–1373
Wong R, Hao J, Ho CM (2003) Prefabricated building construction systems adopted in Hong Kong, Proc. of the International Association for Housing Science on Word Congress of Housing: Process and Product, Montreal, Canada
Zhang N, Zheng L, Duan H, Yin F, Li J, Niu Y (2019) Differences of methods to quantify construction and demolition waste for less-developed but fast-growing countries: China as a case study. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:25513–25525
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge the support of RDF (2016-01-32) and SURF2017, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and to thank Anhui Construction Engineering Real Estate Co., Ltd. for providing the research team with access to their construction site for data collection.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hao, J., Chen, Z., Zhang, Z. et al. Quantifying construction waste reduction through the application of prefabrication: a case study in Anhui, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 24499–24510 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09026-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09026-2