The environmental performance of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) was chosen to be the topic of study for this thesis. While this policy-relevant research area has gained increased coverage in the literature over the last decade, it has still proved difficult to generate empirical data and information of sufficient quality and quantity. A major aspect of environmental performance involves the management of waste, and waste minimisation was of particular interest to this programme of research. Another area of special interest for this thesis was the extent to which voluntary policy tools (voluntary initiatives, or VIs) could be utilised at the local level to engage with SMEs on the issue of improved environmental performance. The early desk study research revealed the major barriers preventing more environmental action by SMEs to date. The barriers included low-priority attachment to environmental issues, a lack of time/manpower and limited understanding. It also revealed that while VIs have proved successful at the 'macro' level there is little evidence or experience to draw on for their design or implementation at the local scale. The programme of empirical research Involved an original analysis of a recent nation-wide survey into the environmental attitudes of UK manufacturing businesses; the completion of an environmental attitudes survey with approximately 60 SMEs situated in East Anglia; observation of a waste-oriented local authority environment project Involving small businesses and a similar project with a rural village community in Suffolk, and finally the establishment of two voluntary waste minimisation initiatives on Industrial estates in Norfolk and Suffolk. The national survey analysis identified smaller sites as consistently less proactive in most areas of environmental thinking and action. This finding was not strongly confirmed by the survey of East Anglian SMEs which showed that a small business does not have to be a member of an environmental group/initiative to have already adopted certain sound environmental practices, even if primarily these measures were geared towards cost savings/efficiency gains. The industrial estates projects have proved to be particularly useful, demonstrating the potential benefits of this type of voluntary action which capitalises on the close geographical proximity of a number of SMEs sharing common problems. The benefits included a reduction of waste generation, the development of more environmentally responsive business cultures and improved relations with the local authority. The village community project that brought together all elements of the local society from the businesses to the school, in a rural setting, seems to be a sensible way to focus minds on the reduction of waste and consequent benefits.

Environmental sustainability, strict Municipal bylaws, ever-increasing waste disposal / Thesis (M.Sc.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

No / This research aims to conduct an exploratory analysis into current industrial reverse logistics practice in business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer relationships (B2C), and determine the financial and operational impact of customer non-compliance in returning distribution equipment back to their source. The analysis was conducted over multiple industry sectors using qualitative research techniques. The research sample included seven industry sectors, providing a response rate of 72 per cent (53 sources approached). The focus was on both B2B and B2C relationships to determine similarities and differences in financial and operational repercussions. The research findings indicate that the efficacy of the reverse logistics system can be undermined by lack of customer compliance, with losses of up to £140 million (B2B). In both B2B and B2C relationships, there is evidence of suppliers suffering financial loss due to customer non-compliance. Due to the small scale of the analysis and the breadth of the industry sectors investigated, these results are not generalisable, but do indicate that this is an area, which could undermine supply chain effectiveness. Practical implications – Non-compliance of this nature carries a direct and highly applicable cost for manufacturers and distributors in the practitioner arena. Suppliers within industry need to acknowledge this issue and manage their reverse logistics more effectively. This paper adopts an innovative focus on an understated feature of the reverse logistics cycle, i.e. the recycling of distribution equipment used to transport outbound and returned products. The paper identifies a range of options, which practitioners can use as guidance when managing the returns system.

The complex nature of waste management and planning requires a long-term strategic policy formation approach incorporating sustainable development principles. Consequently, the transition from a waste paradigm to valuing materials as resources is central for transitioning towards a 'zero waste' future. A need is identified, via infrastructure planning, to move beyond short-term forecasting and predictive methods previously used in waste research in order to overcome target-driven decision-making. The application of a participatory backcasting methodology: visioning, baseline assessment, scenario development and feasibility testing; produced transformative scenarios which are visualised using GIS reflecting the choices, ideas and beliefs of participants. The structural governance (e.g. waste infrastructure planning and strategic waste policy) of an English county is used to evaluate the efficacy of waste management scenarios. A quantitative model was developed to test scenarios for three metrics (tonnages, economics and carbon). The final model utilises the synergy between backcasting and GIS to spatially and temporally analyse empirically quantified outputs. This structured approach produced three transformative scenarios and one reference scenario. Waste prevention and changes to systemic waste generation produced long-term tonnage reductions across the transformative scenarios. Costs of future waste management witnessed the reference scenario outperforming one of the transformative scenarios; while the highest emissions savings were attributable to the scenario most closely reflecting the notion of 'deep sustainability'. In terms of waste infrastructure planning, a centralised pattern of large integrated facilities emphasising catchments rather than administrative boundary were most effective. All three transformative scenarios surpassed the 90% recycling and recovery level used as the zero waste benchmark. The research concludes that backcasting can offer a range of potential futures capable of achieving an arbitrary definition of zero waste. Further, these futures can be visualised and analysed via GIS; enhancing stakeholder engagement. Overall, the GIS-based Backcasting Framework Model (G-BFM) produced has the potential to benefit a range of stakeholders and practitioners and is strategically scalable.

För att uppnå en hållbar utveckling krävs en omställning från den linjära ekonomin med sin avfallsgenerering till en mer cirkulär sådan där resurser inte utarmas utan används i en takt där de hinner förnyas och återskapas. En konsekvens av den ohållbara resursförbrukningen är att avfallsmängderna i världen ökar vilket bidrar till den ohållbara utvecklingen och bör således undvikas. För att lösa detta problem kan man arbeta avfallsförebyggande, det vill säga minska avfallsmängderna och dess negativamiljöeffekter innan avfallet uppkommer. Enligt avfallshierarkin som anger en prioriteringsordning utifrån vad som är bäst sett ur ett miljöperspektiv ska avfall i första hand förebyggas, därefter återanvändas, återvinnas, energiutvinnas och om inget av ovanstående alternativ är möjliga, deponeras. Rapporten har som syfte att sammanställa incitament, hinder, avfallsförebyggande metoder och utvärderande mätmetoder kopplade till avfallsförebyggande åtgärder och är en förstudie till ett större projekt som genomförs av IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet. För att uppnå syftet har en litteraturstudie gjorts för insamling av material. Utöver litteraturstudien har intervjuer som IVL genomfört med aktörer som redan påbörjat ett avfallsförebyggande arbete använts som material. De intervjuade aktörerna är Ikea, JM, Avfall Sverige, Kretslopp och vatten samt Uppsala kommun. Resultatet sammanställer fyra olika typer av incitament: institutionella, ekonomiska, uppsatta mål och övriga incitament. Identifierade hinder grupperas också in i fyra olika typer: mål- och intressekonflikter, ekonomiska hinder, organisatoriska hinder och informativa hinder. Mätmetoder som lyfts för att utvärdera avfallsförebyggande åtgärder är direkt kvantifiering, kostnadsanalys, användande av indikatorer samt resursproduktivitetsförhållanden. Avfallsförebyggande metoder inkluderar i denna rapport product-service system (PSS), återanvändning, ekodesign och beteendeförändringar. Olika aktörer som arbetar avfallsförebyggande lyfts i ett exempelkapitel. I analysen kopplas metoderna samman med de utvalda aktörernas avfallsförebyggande arbete. Direkt kvantifiering visade sig vara en vanligt förekommande mätmetod och en vanligt förekommande avfallsförebyggande metod är beteendeförändringar. Ekonomiska incitament lyfts som särskilt viktiga och behovet av uppskalning och spridning av det avfallsförebyggande arbetet bedöms vara ett viktigt hinder att överbrygga. / To reach a sustainable development there is a need to convert from the linear economy with its waste generation to a more circular economy where natural resources are not depleted but are consumed in a sustainable rate so that the resources are given time to be renewed. One of the consequences of the unsustainable consumption of natural resources is that the amounts of waste is increasing in the world which contributes to the unsustainable development and should therefore be avoided. A solution to this problem is to work with waste prevention, which means to reduce the amounts of waste and its negative environmental effects before the waste is generated. According to the waste hierarchy, which is an order of priority decided by what is best in an environmental point of view, waste should primary be prevented, thereafter it should be reused, recycled, used for energy recovery and, if none of the other options are possible, be disposed. The objective of this report is to compile incentives, obstacles, methods and measuring methods for waste prevention. The report is a pilot study/pre-study for a bigger project by the Swedish environment institution (IVL). To reach the aim material has been collected from a literature study. Besides the literature study, the report also uses material from interviews held by IVL. The interviewees are actors who have already started preventing their waste and these are Ikea, JM, Avfall Sverige, Kretslopp och vatten and Uppsala kommun. In the result the incentives have been divided into four parts: institutional incentives, economic incentives, goals and other incentives. The obstacles are also divided into four parts: conflicts of interests and aims, economic obstacles, organisatory obstacles and informative obstacles. The measuring methods found in the material are direct quantification, cost analysis, indicators and resource productivity ratios. Waste prevention methods in this report includes PSS, reuse, ecodesign and behavioural changes. Also, some examples of actors who are preventing waste are presented. In the analysis the methods are connected to the chosen actors’ waste prevention. The most common method to prevent waste is, according to the result of the report, behavioural changes. The most common method for measuring waste prevention in the result is direct quantification. Economic incentives seem to be of significant importance and the need of spreading and upscaling of waste prevention is an important obstacle to tackle.

Construction waste generation is a global issue in the sustainable construction context and several studies have been performed in different parts of the world to develop methods and tools for waste prevention, reduction, reuse and recycling. Most of these studies adopted a linear approach by focussing on a specific project phase, such as design, procurement or construction. However, there is a consensus in the literature that factors causing construction waste span across the project life cycle and recent researchers emphasised the need for a more integrated lifecycle approach to holistically assess and evaluate causes of waste to suggest recommendations to reduce lifecycle construction waste generation. Over recent years, the UK government has been investing billions of pounds in new and refurbished healthcare projects, where the healthcare buildings are often referred to, in literature, as complex buildings. This large investment has created a number of sustainability issues including water consumption, CO2 emissions, energy consumption, and more significantly construction waste generation. However, no significant research has been undertaken to propose a systematic construction waste minimisation mechanism for healthcare construction projects. Therefore, this research aims to develop a lifecycle construction waste minimisation framework for healthcare projects (HC-WMF). In order to identify the research problem and construction waste generation issues peculiar to healthcare projects, nine preliminary interviews were conducted with healthcare clients (N=3), architects (N=3), and contractors (N=3). The findings revealed that healthcare projects generate high rates of waste compared to other building projects throughout the project lifecycle, identified complex features that have an effect on waste generation, and identified particular causes of construction waste in healthcare projects. A further in-depth study based on four case studies was undertaken to understand the impact of waste generation due to the causes of waste, the relationship between complex features in healthcare projects and the causes of waste, and best waste minimisation practices to be implemented throughout a healthcare project lifecycle to address construction waste causes. Three interviews (client, architect, and contractor) from each case study were undertaken during the data collection stage. A Healthcare Construction Waste Minimisation Framework (HC-WMF) and Self-Assessment Tool (SAT) were then developed based on the findings of the literature review, preliminary data collection study and case studies, and adoption of the key concepts of problem solving methodology. This HC-WMF comprised six waste minimisation strategies (project documents management, stakeholders waste awareness, communication and coordination, buildability, materials selection and procurement, and change management) to be followed throughout the lifecycle stages of a healthcare project. SAT provides a means to assess the effectiveness in implementing HC-WMF and to obtain feedback and learning outcomes for continuous further improvements. In order to validate the developed HC-WMF and SAT a validation questionnaire (N=26) and validation interviews (N=4) were conducted. The validation results showed that the HC-WMF and SAT would be very useful in reducing construction waste generation from healthcare projects. The research contributes to construction waste minimisation research introducing a novel approach to lifecycle waste reduction. Also, the research revealed the complex features in healthcare projects that affect construction waste generation, causes and origins of waste peculiar to healthcare projects, and best waste minimisation strategies to implement to reduce construction waste generation from healthcare projects. Most importantly, through HC-WMF, this research produced a set of guidelines to be followed throughout the healthcare project lifecycle to reduce construction waste generation. The study has made recommendations which, if adopted, will lead to significant improvements in sustainable healthcare construction due to construction waste minimisation. The content should be of interest to clients, designers, and contractors dealing with construction waste minimisation and sustainable construction in healthcare projects. Key words: Construction waste, Healthcare, Causes of waste, Healthcare complexities, Waste minimisation, UK.

A chromium plating line used by a local company was monitored to identify any potential waste minimisation opportunities. Plating of the workpiece surface is carried out by immersing the workpiece in seven process (treatment) solutions including nickel and chromium plating baths. Between each process step the workpieces are rinsed. The chromium plating process was evaluated using the results of a waste minimisation audit. This involved gathering data on the composition, flow rates and costs of the inputs of the process. Two types of data were collected namely new and existing data. The new data included chemical monitoring (concentration levels of Ni, Cr, Na, S, B, P, Si, Fe, Cu, Zn, Pb as well as conductivity, TDS, SS and pH measurements) and water usage data. The existing data included raw materials, utility inputs, composition of process solutions and product outputs. The data were analysed using three established waste minimisation techniques. The Water Economy Assessment (a form of Monitoring and Targeting) results were determined using an empirically derived model. The Water Balance and True Cost of Waste results were obtained through more detailed calculations using the results of the chemical analysis. The results from the audit showed that the water usage on the chromium plating line has the highest waste minimisation potential. The True Cost of Waste analysis showed there is no significant chemical wastage in the effluent stream. The potential savings of the effluent stream was negligible (approximately R10 for 238 days). Drag-out calculations were also performed and showed that the drag-out volumes were in good agreement with the typical volumes found in the metal finishing industry. Intervention using simple lowcost and no-cost waste minimisation opportunities were recommended as a first step before contemplating further focus areas for technical or feasibility studies. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

Both construction Waste Minimisation (WM) and construction procurement activities play an effective role in attaining sustainability by giving due consideration to the environment, community and social conditions in delivering built assets. The construction industry has a major impact on the environment, both in terms of resource consumption and increasing waste production. Recent figures published by the UK government reveal that construction and demolition activities produce approximately 32% of total waste generated: three times the waste produced by all households combined. However, the current and on-going research in the field of construction WM and management focuses mainly on onsite waste quantification and management; and stakeholders‟ source identification. Little research has been undertaken to evaluate the relationship between Construction Procurement Systems (CPS) and construction waste generation. However, literature emphasises the need for research in this context. This research aims to develop a Procurement Waste Minimisation Framework (PWMF) to enhance WM practices by evaluating the relationship between CPS and construction waste generation. Objectives of the research include: examine construction WM drivers, WM approaches, waste origins and causes; critically review and evaluate current CPS and sustainable procurement practices in the UK; assess the relationship between CPS and construction waste generation; investigate and synthesis Procurement Waste Origins (PWO); examine the most suitable CPS that could potentially embed and sustain WM; develop and validate the PWMF. This research has adopted a survey research design and mixed methods sequential procedure. Data has been gathered through a cross sectional, self-administered postal questionnaire survey (N=258 distributed, n=65 received) and semi-structured interviews (N=17) with procurement managers and sustainability managers from the top 100 UK contracting organisations and quantity surveyors from the top 100 UK quantity surveying organisations. Data analysis techniques include: descriptive statistics; non-parametric tests; and constant comparative method. The PWMF has developed based on the findings of literature review, questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews and adopting key concepts of problem solving methodology. The PWMF validation method includes: validation questionnaire (N=8) and follow-up semi-structured interviews (N=6) with procurement managers, sustainability managers and quantity surveyors. Key findings which emerged from the study include: CPS do have an impact on waste generation in construction; integrated CPS have major potential to integrate WM strategies; four PWO identified (i.e. uncoordinated early involvement of project stakeholders; ineffective communication and coordination; unclear allocation of WM responsibilities; and inconsistent procurement documentation) and associated sub-waste causes; and the developed PWMF enables to diagnose potential waste origins and causes, and WM improvement measures for design and build projects. The study has made recommendations which, if adopted, will lead to significant improvements in WM practices and sustainable procurement practices in construction. The content should be of interest to contractors, clients, and organisations dealing with procurement, waste and sustainability.

ABSTRACT Sustainable development has become part of Government policy across the world. In the construction industry it has been introduced through the promotion of “sustainable construction” or “green construction”. International trends show a gradual move away from wasteful construction industry practices that include high resource consumption, material wastage, inefficiencies in construction processes and a high percentage of waste that find its way to waste disposal sites and illegal dumps. This research report seeks to promote sustainable construction and waste minimisation as preferred models for achieving a balance in the economic, social and environmental impacts of development. It reviews South Africa’s construction and demolition site practice from the perspective of construction and demolition waste management, assessing waste management practice and the resultant waste disposal. To gauge South Africa’s performance it benchmarks South African practice against those of the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands. This approach highlights gaps in South Africa’s current practice and also provides some valuable lessons that can be used to ensure compliance with sustainable construction principles. Finally the research report proposes a framework for developing a self-sustaining secondary construction materials market in South Africa, which can prove to be a valuable tool for ensuring the absorption of sustainable construction in the construction industry.

The aim of this study is to examine the main reasons for and obstacles to single family households sorting household waste. Focusing on a population between ages 35 and 45 and 65+, it also examines motivating factors, reasons, and obstacles to reduce total household waste. Worldwide, the problem of greenhouse gases and dioxins because of waste is still unresolved. The national environmental legislation state that everyone is responsible to handle their waste in a way that does not harm people or the environment. Previous investigations regarding waste, conducted by waste company Miva, situated in municipality of Örnsköldsvik, show that improvements can be done by the citizens. The current project involves a survey sent to 789 households and answered by 302. Results from the survey combined with eight telephone interviews showed the following: people sort their waste mainly for environmental reasons but sometimes they find it easier not to sort at all, often because of very dirty packaging or simply convenience. Both age groups have the will but do not experience the possibility to reduce their overall waste. Higher waste management cost does not motivate people to improve their recycling habits, but personal feedback seems to be an effective way to reach higher motivation. To reach further improvements and reduce waste the citizens of Örnsköldsvik might need to change their consumption habits and producers take their responsibility regarding packaging. Further research to what impacts consumer behaviour is needed.