India is becoming one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The country is urbanising, at light speed, by constructing flyovers, bridges, residential and commercial complexes.
In the fast-paced progress, the thought, “what about the construction and demotion (C&D) waste?” is lost somewhere.
According to the Indian Express, the C&D waste in the country was not looked upon separately until two years ago. Although, with new rules being added to the court of law, C&D wastes have been recognised to be managed as an individual entity.
As responsible citizens, we need to take care of our environment. Shah & Talati, one of the best project management consultants in Vadodara, recommend adopting recycling of construction waste.
First things first. Let’s take a look at the 5 ways in which we can recycle the construction waste, in an effort to save the environment from our actions.
1. Reconstructing Old Buildings into New Ones
Waste obtained during the demolition of buildings include windows, doors, masonry, iron and steel rods, wooden structures, plastic bags, etc.
The waste collected can be used during the construction of new buildings or spaces. While remodelling buildings, the walls need not be demolished, instead they can be renovated or repurposed.
Materials that are used in the construction of any building have to be checked for quality. The process of quality analysis of reused materials is eliminated, which saves time and money.
2. Segregating Waste
Add a storage room on your site and place clearly labelled bins in there. These bins will be used to dispose of different types of waste.
A training session will have to be put into motion for employees to teach them the basics of the segregation procedures. They could be encouraged to follow the new rules by using the age-old method of awarding rewards and incentives.
If you can afford a mini crusher, then it can be helpful to deconstruct the waste materials and can be directly sent to a local recycling centre. Or you could make use of your crusher by reusing the waste to make something creative for the office. (Say something like a small best out of the waste project that your employees may enjoy as well.)
3. Tuning in with a Local Recycling Centre
Instead of piling up the waste, it would be better to send it to your nearest recycling centre which can be recovered for later use.
Timely recycling will help in less accumulation of wastes and enhance cleanliness.
4. Getting Rid of Harmful Waste
Try eliminating construction waste that is harmful to the health and environment. Limit the use of hazardous metals on site as they can pose a serious threat to health.
Everything cannot be recycled, things that are of no use should be directly thrown away.
5. Adopting Deconstruction not Demolition
Huge tons of harmful pollutants are released in the atmosphere during the construction of a project. Along with this a lot of waste is produced that can hamper visibility and may even cause health problems in the surrounding areas.
Deconstruction can start the trend of reusing certain materials for further construction purposes. Not only this, but it also helps in preserving resources, minimizing landfills waste, and may also generate employment.
This means that each material should be designed in such a way that it can be detached from the building during the deconstruction process and be used elsewhere.
Disassembling will allow project management consultants to reuse most of the construction waste in projects where the budget may be scarce.
There are a few points that need to be noted while redesigning and deconstructing buildings:
- Avoid completely tearing down a building. Rather, try to deconstruct it partially while coming up with innovative ways for reusing the parts that don’t need to be demolished.
- Buildings made by timber wood are highly deconstructable since the pieces of wood have been joined by nails and dowels.
- There are some buildings that have been constructed using high-quality bricks which are covered by low-quality mortar. Such projects can be easily deconstructed.
There is a need for every developer to get in touch with the project management consultant who thinks about development in a sustainable way.
The reason being:
Structural engineers and designers play a vital role in analyzing, planning and researching the overall structure of a building. They work to achieve design goals that ensure the comfort and safety of the users.
Imagine if they started building projects that contributed to the environment rather than just taking away from it.
Structural designers and consultants consider the safety, technical, economic and environmental concerns while planning the overall structure.
We have already established that excessive waste a serious concern for a developing country like India!
In the construction industry, excessive waste is a huge drawback in the continuous efforts to reduce waste. With the use of advanced manufacturing technologies and prefabrication, this can be slowed down leading to an eventual stop.
Along with waste menace, maintenance of buildings is also a matter of concern that may reduce waste by timely demolition of old buildings.
So, let’s take a look at how the structural engineers are important in creating an eco-friendly construction environment.
1. Using Less Carbon to Reduce Carbon Emission
According to the American Society of Civil Engineer’s Sustainability guidelines for the structural engineer (ASCE-SEI), every ton of cement produces around 0.9 tons of carbon dioxide. Can you even imagine the amount of carbon dioxide that must be released from the buildings each day?
2. Designing Circular Buildings
The circular buildings approach can be made using re-usable products which is a great idea to conserve our environment. These types of buildings use less space in terms of ground cover and are known to reduce the amount of heat they catch and store.
For a hot country like India, this would mean saving money on running air conditioners 24/7.
Implementation of proper rules and regulations by the government could be the change we’ve been waiting to see. As and when stakeholders come to know about such rules, they could be informed about the positive impacts of sustainable architecture. With the motivation from structural designers and consultants, the layman could be encouraged to move towards a better future.
Enough talk about what the government can do, take a look at the 3 ways in which an eco-friendly environment can be forged.
With the above ideas in mind, let’s move down to understand how to create a zero waste future.
- Change your design approach:Engineers and designers should focus more on disassembling the older buildings. There is a need for reinventing structural components that can be easily detached when needed and reused wherever possible.
- Consider a building’s future:There is a constant rise in the need to focus on the longevity of the building rather than the design. That being said, as design can be the factor that leads a building to a brighter future.
- Promote the use of the latest technology:Latest manufacturing technologies should be used to reduce resource consumption.
There have to be more ways in which we can make the lives of the next generation better if we tried hard enough. With the combined effort of the government, construction companies, architectural firms, and every individual that uses the building and public spaces, we can achieve a greater impact.
Structural designers and consultants lay the foundation stone before construction of any infrastructure. Environmental awareness is the need of the hour. It requires quick action before its too late!
Shah & Talati is an engineering and architectural firm that believes in innovation and commitment towards every project on hand. With professionals providing their expert services to the industrial and infrastructure markets, the firm has completed various projects successfully. Contact us now for your dream project!