Today, most construction sites generate about 40-60 kg waste per m2. Waste reduction will have great potential for savings in cost, resource use and environmental impact, but todays practice and methodology has shown that it is demanding to achieve substantial waste reduction.
There are no national requirements for waste reduction in construction projects, and it is the building owner that have to set such requirements. To be able to generate less waste in construction projects, the building owners themselves need a common framework to realise waste free construction sites. This includes developing a new methodology to enable a detailed measurement of waste quantities and uniform reporting of data. This will make way for a new mindset about how the construction project, including the related procurement and contract management, can be carried out to reach waste free construction sites.
The developments of the procurement procedures by the three municipal building owners Omsorgsbygg, Bærum municipality and Asker municipality, will enable actors in the construction industry to deliver waste free construction sites. By challenging the market through procurement of three pilots, innovative solutions needed for realising waste free construction site will be created. That is why a method to measure, evaluate, follow-up and document the waste through the construction process is essential. This is developed by utilising material flow analysis, life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis.
The project results will give the public building owners a common framework, with specific ambitions and a set of requirements for waste free construction sites. In addition to reduced costs, the new waste reduction solutions are expected to lead to more efficient and high-quality construction of buildings. Waste free construction site requirements will be unique, also internationally, just as Norway has a leading position in the development of emission free construction sites.
The project started with on-line project kick-of meeting in April 2021 with presentations on expectation and contribution of partners and invited speakers from the construction industry on similar topics. The kick-off also included group work and discussions on potential waste reduction measures, relevant topics for market dialogue and available platforms for collecting waste data. The inputs from the kick-off meeting are further used as a background in the definition of the scope of the project. As part of the scope definition work, there have been a series of discussions with ConZerW research project to harmonize the on-going waste free construction definition work in ConZerW. Common minimum requirements and possible criteria for procurement of waste free construction sites have been collected from the three municipalities (Oslo, Asker, and Bærum) and discussed within the project group. As part of the innovative pilot project procurement process, evaluation of potential comparable pilot projects (e.g., school buildings, kindergartens) from the three municipalities have been conducted based on selection criteria. Gydas vei is selected as a pilot from Oslobygg. Draft data collection sheet is developed for collecting waste data and GHG emission evaluation method. Selection of pilot projects, conducting dialogue conference and procurement processes and further developing evaluation methods are some of the activities planned for 2022.
Byggenæringen er i dag verdens største forbruker av naturressurser og står for 36 % av energibruken og 39 % klimagassutslippene i verden. I dag produserer de fleste byggeplasser ca. 40-60 kg avfall per kvm. Dette utgjør derfor i teorien et stort potensial for miljø-, ressurs- og kostnadsbesparelser, men med dagens praksis og metodikk viser det seg krevende å få redusert avfallsmengdene.
Det finnes i dag krav knyttet til avfallssortering, men ingen nasjonale krav knyttet til avfallsreduksjon i byggeprosjekter, og det er byggherrene som setter slike avfallskrav. Det trengs derfor et felles rammeverk for avfallsfrie byggeplasser med tydeligere definerte ambisjoner, en utvikling av metodikk for å måle avfallsmengder og rapportere data på en enhetlig måte. Det må også tenkes nytt rundt hvordan byggeprosjektet, inkludert relaterte anskaffelser og kontraktsoppfølging, kan gjennomføres for å oppnå høyest mulig avfallsreduksjon.
De tre kommunale byggherrene Omsorgsbygg, Bærum kommune og Asker kommune, som sammen med SINTEF er hovedpartnere i denne søknaden, ønsker å angripe denne problemstillingen fra en ny vinkel. Overordnet er tanken at byggherrene i samarbeid med SINTEF skal utarbeide et felles rammeverk for å kunne sammenligne og evaluere resultater for avfallsreduksjon på en enhetlig måte. Videre skal det etterstrebes å velge sammenlignbare byggeprosjekter hos de tre byggherrene. I selve anskaffelsen vil derimot de tre byggherrene velge ulike framgangsmåter med formål å oppnå vesentlig avfallsreduksjon. Dette vil muliggjøre en interessant resultatbasert sammenligning i etterkant med læring for fremtidige prosjekter.
