Domain

Explanation

What waste?

• Waste has the meaning of no practical future use intended for the particular classification of materials
• For example, a chair that has a broken leg and no longer able to support the weight of a person is useless as a chair
• However, waste does not imply rubbish (which is utterly useless and harmful)
• Waste that no longer has its intended usefulness might be converted into other classifications so long as it meets the prerequisite requirements
• For example, the broken-legged chair might be converted into a basket with the legs broken to form the support and an elastic wrapping to cover the exterior
• "Waste does not mean wasted"

Why waste?

• Waste itself is a natural process of any phenomenon, however some phenomena produce less and more useful wastes than others
• Any living organism metabolises and produces certain materials that need to be cleared from itself
• In mammals, these are stool, urine, sweat, heat
• Waste in artificial processes is definite - all processes produce waste that are no longer useful to the processes, however might still be useful for others in the present form or otherwise
• As the trend for workflow now is to mimic natural processes to optimise effectiveness and efficiency, inorganic waste can be modeled as that of organic ones
• There are a few major contributing factors to wastes as follows:

1. Design phase: wastage level is proportional to design impracticality
2. Planning phase: uncertainties, lack of experience and judgement as well as the inappropriate planning methodologies induce more wastes and rubbish
3. Logistics phase: improper & ill-managed procurement, storage, maintenance, transportation and replenishment of materials and tools
4. Execution phase: actual coordination, management and post-operation delays, uncertainties and buffers
5. Implementation phase: before, during and after actual construction where there are no concerted design, effort and training to employ the full potential of present materials and tools to reduce wastage
6. Post-construction phase: after each construction stage, the wastes that are produced in that stage accumulate without subsequent stages reusing, reducing and recycling the accumulated wastes

Why the need to manage waste?

• In the ecological system, waste is not rubbish, not even wasted
• All wastes from one ecological component is converted, transformed or metamorphosed into nutrients that other organisms require for survival
• As such, there are various stages within a complete, self-sustaining ecological system
• And there are paths of waste-conversion and nutrient-replenishment that interconnect the various stages to one another
• In this way, waste from one component cannot be considered as waste from the entire system - it is an integral and essential ingredient for the continued prosperity of the system, else the system can never achieve equilibrium and the resultant leakage would drain its internal resources and diminishes its survivability
• The same applies to artificial systems
• For example, the furniture industry must produce a lot of pulp dust due to trimming, drilling and milling operations. In this carpentry stage, these are wastes that need to be disposed off since they are helpful for furniture production. But, the pulp is not rubbish, it can be recycled into low-quality paper, cardboard, boxes.
• As new methodologies, processes and technologies emerge and become mainstream, the wastes of virtually any one stage in the human economy can be converted into useful forms for any stages, including the stage that produces the wastes
• Recycled water is an example
• Waste reduction is necessary due to renewed emphasis on resource optimisation and operational efficiency - as waste is an inherent by-product of the construction processes, a well-planned and well-managed change can significantly reduce wastage
• Waste reuse is adopted whenever the costs of waste production and disposal exceed its inherent potential for reuse. As a cost-reduction measure, waste reuse help to conserve resources and enable us to create news with the same materials and tools which would otherwise be wasted
• Waste recycling is necessary for the prosperity and survivability of the entire system, but only marginally attractive for the waste-producing stage (the costs, administration and manpower to create, work and manage the recycling operations). As such, it is the job of the authorities to encourage recycling and the task of the industry stage to weigh the situation and manage its operations accordingly

How to manage waste?

• To manage waste is to prioritise and target the major contributing factors
• There are a few major contributing factors to wastes as follows:

1. Design phase: consultant and expert system analysis and modeling, design/build
2. Planning phase: project management, objective/scope/techniques
3. Logistics phase: direct business model, monitor and top-up as and when needed
4. Implementation phase: lean construction
5. Post-construction phase: system stages liaison, coordination and cooperation with equilibrium achieved by mixed market and legislative forces

• The approaches are either waste management within the stage (Microscale) or between stages (Macroscale)
• The economy or industry can be considered as an assembly of various stages
• Waste management like organisation is superficially tedious an unfulfilling, but inherently effective once equilibrium is achieved

1. Microscale: bearing the waste management objectives and scope in mind, make concerted and organised efforts to implement the changes
2. Macroscale: bearing the prosperity and survivability of the entire system in mind, organise, induce and encourage inter-stage waste management