Attitude and behavioral factors in waste management in the construction industry of Malaysia

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2009.01.005Get rights and content

Abstract

In Malaysia, there has not yet been any widely published research that has described contractor attitudes and behaviors regarding waste management including waste reduction, reuse and recycling. Taken together, these attitudes and behaviors are crucial to understanding how construction waste management problems might be resolved. As the Malaysian construction industry is still labor-intensive, the attitudes and behaviors of individuals involved in this industry influence its growth and performance. This paper intends to provide insights on how contractor attitudes and behaviors affect waste management in the construction industry of Malaysia. A structured questionnaire survey was implemented in order to interview local contractors. This paper utilizes logistic regression analysis to assess the relationship between various factors affecting contractor attitudes and behaviors regarding waste management. The results show that contractor attitudes and behaviors regarding waste management tend to differ based on the size of the contractor, which is indicated by its group or category. Contractors that have positive attitudes toward waste management also have satisfactory behaviors, supporting Ajzen's theory of planned behavior. The important and significant factors that affect contractor attitudes toward waste management include contractor size, source reduction, reuse and recycling measures, frequency of waste collection, staff participation in training programs and waste disposal method. Factors such as construction-related education among employees, contractor experience in construction works, source-reduction measures, reuse of materials, waste disposal behaviors and attitudes toward waste management are the most significant factors affecting contractor behavior on waste management. These factors influence contractor attitudes and behaviors and are necessary to effectively improve waste management, growth and performance, as well as to reduce the environmental degradation of the construction industry.

Introduction

Construction and demolition (C&D) debris frequently comprises 10–30% of the waste received at many landfill sites around the world (Fishbein, 1998). According to McGarth and Anderson (2000), wastage rates within the UK construction industry may be as high as 10–15%. Construction waste contributes a large amount of solid waste generation in Australia (Lingard et al., 2000, Teo and Loosemore, 2001, McDonald and Smithers, 1998) and in the United States of America (Alexander, 1993, Helper, 1994) and Canada (Kalin, 1991). In Malaysia, the average amount of municipal solid waste generated was approximately 1.2 kg/day in 2000 (Agamuthu, 2001). The sources and quantities of municipal solid waste vary among local authorities in Malaysia depending on the township size and level of economic standards. The amount generated may range from 45 tonnes/day of municipal solid waste (MSW) in Kluang, which is a small town in a southern part of Peninsular Malaysia, to 3000 tonnes/day in Kuala Lumpur (Agamuthu et al., 2004). In the last two decades in Malaysia, extensive building and infrastructure development projects have led to an increase in construction waste generation. A study by Mohd Nasir et al. (1998) showed that 28.34% of waste comes from industrial and construction waste in the Central and Southern regions of Malaysia. As the construction industry develops, it generates substantial construction waste in Malaysia, which significantly impacts the environment and causes increased public concern among local communities. The environmental effects of the industry are directly related to the quality and quantity of waste it generates. Construction waste can significantly affect the performance and productivity of an organization (Alwi et al., 2002). In addition, Skoyles and Skoyles (1987) demonstrated that construction and demolition waste have become a burden to clients, as they must eventually bear the costs of waste. Thus, construction waste management has become important for improving the performance of the construction industry (Egan, 1998, Kulatunga et al., 2006). Thus, it is necessary to understand contractor attitudes and behaviors regarding waste management in the construction industry.

This paper intends to provide insights on how contractor attitudes and behaviors affect waste management in the construction industry of Malaysia. The second section of this paper reviews previous studies on attitudes and behaviors toward waste management. The third section describes this study's research methodology. Findings are presented in the fourth section, which include a logistic regression analysis of contractor attitudes and behaviors and a number of factors affecting such attitudes and behaviors. The final section provides a discussion and addresses the policy implications of this research.

Section snippets

A brief review of studies on attitudes and behaviors regarding waste management

Generally, attitude is a positive or negative feeling toward specific objects; it exerts an influence on behavior. Whether consciously or not, behavioral decisions are frequently based upon attitudes (Fabrigar, 2004). Herremans and Allwright (2000) demonstrated that posture, which includes awareness and attitude, leads to action and performance (behavior) regarding environmental management issues. Recent research on municipal solid waste management has focused on household participation and

Survey design and sampling method

A structured questionnaire survey was used to collect data by interviewing respondents from Klang Valley area who are registered as local contractors with the Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia. A purposive stratified random sampling method was used. In the first stage of sampling, the study selected samples of contractors that were involved in general building and construction activities within the construction industry. Then, the samples were divided into three groups

Source reduction, reuse and recycling attitudes

Table 3 indicates that there is a very minor difference between positive (49%) and negative (50%) attitudes toward waste reduction measures among the 103 contractors that knew about source reduction from the total 130 samples. This supports the findings of Lingard et al. (2000), McDonald and Smithers (1998) and Teo et al. (2000), who suggest that attitudes toward waste reduction are generally positive. Alternatively, 46% and 54% of the 113 contractors that knew about reuse and recycling from

Sorting waste materials

Table 5 summarizes contractor waste-sorting behaviors among the three sampled groups. The survey results show that a vast majority (61%) of contractors do not sort their waste at construction sites. The results also show that contractor waste-sorting behaviors significantly differ (P < 0.01) among the three groups, with highest level of sorting observed in Group A, followed by Group C, and then Group B. Poon et al. (2001) demonstrated that on-site waste sorting is an effective means to reduce the

Discussion and conclusions

The findings of this study conclude that contractor attitudes and behaviors regarding waste management tend to differ based on the size of the contractor, which is indicated by its group or category. According to Teo and Loosemore (2001), attitudes regarding waste differ from one organization to another, depending on organizational culture and waste management policies. The results of this study are not directly comparable with available studies on household attitudes and behaviors regarding

Acknowledgements

This paper is part of a research project entitled “Waste Minimization and Recycling Potential of Construction Materials” funded by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) of Malaysia. The project is a collaboration between the Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI) of the University Kebangsaan Malaysia and the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM). We are grateful to the contractors and their staff for providing information and data.

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