COMPLETE SCHOOL PROJECT TOPICS & MATERIALS :
CHAPTERS: Chapter 1-5 | DOC FORMAT: MS WORD/PDF | PRICE: ₦5,000

GET COMPLETE WORK

ASSESSMENT AND OPTIMIZATION OF CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON SELECTED SITES IN BENIN CITY

ABSTRACT

Rapid urbanization in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, has intensified construction and demolition (C&D) waste generation, creating serious environmental, health, and economic challenges. Current practices predominantly involve open dumping, roadside accumulation, burning, and landfilling, driven by limited recycling facilities, weak regulatory enforcement, high processing costs, and low awareness among stakeholders. Although many C&D materials (concrete, metals, masonry) exhibit recyclability rates above 65–75%, actual recovery remains below 5–10%, leading to resource loss, soil and water contamination, air pollution, drainage blockage, flooding risks, and increased vector-borne diseases. This study assesses existing C&D waste management practices on selected sites in Benin City, identifies key barriers, evaluates environmental impacts, proposes optimization strategies (source reduction, on-site segregation, recycled material use, digital tools integration), and recommends policy enhancements for sustainable management. Employing site observations, stakeholder interviews, questionnaires, and secondary data analysis, the research covers residential, commercial, and institutional projects from 2020 to 2026. The findings aim to bridge local data gaps, guide contractors and regulators toward reduced landfill dependency, cost savings, and circular economy alignment, ultimately supporting healthier urban environments and green economic opportunities in Benin City’s construction sector.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Construction and demolition (C&D) waste management represents one of the most critical environmental and developmental challenges in contemporary urban contexts, particularly within rapidly growing cities in developing economies. The construction industry functions as a principal driver of economic advancement, enabling infrastructure expansion, housing provision, commercial growth, and urban revitalization. Concurrently, this sector produces significant volumes of waste materials, including concrete rubble, brick and masonry fragments, timber offcuts, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, plastics, gypsum board, packaging materials, and miscellaneous demolition debris.

In Nigeria, the construction sector experiences continuous expansion due to population growth, government infrastructure projects, private sector investments, and the urgent need to address housing shortages amidst rapid urbanization. Nationally, the industry makes a substantial contribution to gross domestic product while generating millions of metric tons of C&D waste annually, predominantly managed through uncontrolled disposal methods. Globally, C&D waste constitutes 30–40% of total solid waste in numerous jurisdictions, with proportions rising in regions experiencing intensive construction activity coupled with limited regulatory oversight.

Benin City, the capital of Edo State and a major urban center in southern Nigeria, illustrates these trends. With a population surpassing 1.7 million and ongoing urban growth fueled by rural-urban migration, economic opportunities, and infrastructure development encompassing road networks, residential estates, institutional facilities, and commercial projects, the city faces increasing construction activity and periodic demolition works. This urban expansion intensifies C&D waste generation, exacerbating pressure on waste management systems already challenged by municipal solid waste issues.

Current practices in Benin City and Edo State predominantly involve indiscriminate disposal methods such as open dumping on vacant land, roadside accumulation, sporadic open burning, and reliance on overwhelmed municipal or informal landfill sites. These practices result from inadequate recycling infrastructure, insufficient facilities for material recovery, inconsistent enforcement of environmental regulations, and limited awareness among construction stakeholders regarding sustainable alternatives like source separation, on-site reuse, and off-site recycling.

Recent research highlights that although many C&D components exhibit high recyclability potential often exceeding 65–75% for aggregates, metals, and masonry—actual recovery and reuse rates in Nigerian urban environments remain critically low, frequently below 5–10%. This inefficiency perpetuates resource depletion, increases landfill demands, and contributes to broader environmental degradation, including soil contamination from leachates, air quality deterioration due to particulate matter and combustion emissions, surface water pollution, and proliferation of disease vectors at unmanaged dumpsites.

The need for improved practices aligns with circular economy principles, which emphasize waste prevention through design optimization, material recovery via reuse and recycling, and reduced dependence on virgin resources. In Benin City, where rapid urbanization intensifies flooding risks from blocked drainage systems, public health vulnerabilities, and ecological stress, localized evaluation of C&D waste management becomes imperative. This study therefore focuses on selected construction and demolition sites within Benin City to assess current practices, identify systemic shortcomings, and propose contextually appropriate strategies for enhancing waste management sustainability.

1.2 Statement of the Problem
Benin City faces mounting C&D waste volumes due to unregulated urban expansion, population influx, and heightened construction activity. Predominant disposal methods including open dumping, roadside accumulation, informal burning, and reliance on poorly managed landfills generate severe environmental and public health consequences. These include widespread soil and groundwater contamination from hazardous leachates, airborne particulate matter and toxic emissions from combustion, surface water degradation, biodiversity disruption, and increased disease vector proliferation at dumpsites.

Despite technical feasibility for recovering substantial portions of C&D materials such as crushed concrete for secondary aggregates or salvaged metals for reprocessing persistent systemic barriers hinder progress. These barriers include high costs associated with off-site processing and transportation, scarcity of specialized sorting or recycling facilities in Edo State, insufficient training and awareness among industry professionals, and fragmented or weakly implemented regulatory frameworks governing construction waste.

Such inefficiencies result in significant resource wastage, inflated project costs due to material losses, missed opportunities for secondary material markets, and failure to capitalize on the economic potential of waste streams. Without comprehensive, site-specific analysis and strategic intervention, unsustainable C&D waste practices in Benin City will continue to degrade the environment, diminish urban quality of life, increase public health burdens, and impede progress toward national sustainability goals and circular economy adoption.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

1. Assess current C&D waste management practices on selected sites in Benin City.
2. Identify key challenges in C&D waste management.
3. Evaluate environmental impacts of existing practices.
4. Propose optimization strategies for waste reduction.
5. Recommend policy improvements for sustainable management.

1.4 Research Questions

1. What are the current C&D waste management practices on selected sites in Benin City?
2. What key challenges exist in C&D waste management?
3. What environmental impacts arise from existing practices?
4. What optimization strategies can reduce waste?
5. What policy improvements support sustainable management?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This research furnishes empirically grounded, locale-specific insights into the dynamics of C&D waste management in Benin City, thereby addressing evident deficiencies in localized data and facilitating evidence-informed decision-making among key stakeholders. These include building contractors, project developers, architects, quantity surveyors, environmental regulatory bodies, and Edo State governmental authorities responsible for urban planning and waste governance.

Through systematic documentation of prevailing practices, identification of principal barriers, and delineation of practical interventions such as enhanced on-site segregation protocols, design-phase waste minimization techniques, incorporation of recycled aggregates, and deployment of digital planning tools, the study promotes operational efficiencies, diminished landfill reliance, and alignment with sustainable construction paradigms. Practically, the outcomes can inform cost-reduction measures within the industry, alleviate ecological and health risks associated with unmanaged dumpsites, and catalyze nascent recycling enterprises, thereby generating employment within the emerging green economy sector.

Academically, the work augments scholarly discourse on C&D waste governance in sub-Saharan African urban contexts, offering comparative value for investigations into circular economy adoption across developing regions. Policy-oriented recommendations encompassing strengthened enforcement mechanisms, incentive structures for eco-efficient practices, and stakeholder capacity-building initiatives provide a robust foundation for Edo State authorities to pursue resilient, environmentally responsible urban development trajectories.

1.6 Scope of the Study

This investigation is geographically confined to a selection of active and recently completed construction and demolition sites situated within Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. It encompasses diverse project typologies, including residential developments, commercial structures, and institutional facilities, executed or ongoing during the period from 2020 to 2026. The focus centers on patterns of waste generation, prevailing handling and disposal methodologies, associated challenges, resultant environmental effects, and opportunities for optimization pertinent to C&D waste streams exclusively.

Non-C&D municipal solid waste categories, such as household organic fractions or industrial non-construction residues, fall outside the purview. Data acquisition draws upon direct site observations, structured interviews with contractors and site personnel, questionnaire surveys targeting stakeholders, and pertinent secondary literature. Potential limitations include restricted access to certain private sites, dependence on participant-reported information, and variability in construction activity influenced by seasonal or economic factors. Notwithstanding these, emphasis is placed on deriving pragmatic, adaptable strategies suited to urban developing environments.

1.7 Definition of Terms

• Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste: Residual or surplus materials arising from the erection, alteration, repair, maintenance, or demolition of buildings and infrastructure, inclusive of concrete, masonry units, timber, metals, plastics, gypsum products, and associated packaging.
• Waste Management Practices: Comprehensive procedures for the prevention, collection, temporary storage, transportation, processing, recovery (through reuse or recycling), treatment, and ultimate disposal of C&D waste.
• Optimization: Deliberate application of measures—including source reduction, improved segregation at generation points, material substitution, process redesign, and technological integration—to curtail waste volumes, elevate recovery efficiencies, and attenuate adverse environmental and economic consequences.
• Circular Economy: Restorative economic model that emphasizes resource productivity through systematic reduction of waste generation, extension of material lifecycles via reuse and recycling, and closure of loops to minimize extraction of virgin resources and environmental degradation.
• Sustainable Material Use: Environmentally conscious methodologies in construction entailing selection of low-impact materials, minimization of waste at source, incorporation of recycled or recovered content, and consideration of full lifecycle implications to diminish ecological footprints.

References

Ikpe, A. E., Ndon, A.-I. E., & Etim, P. J. (2020). Assessment of the waste management system and its implication in Benin City metropolis, Nigeria. Journal of Applied Research in Industrial Engineering, 7(1), 79–91. https://www.journal-aprie.com/article_105550_ddbd6d94e01e46860d99a42c86ea74ff.pdf

Odoko, B. A. (2024). Enhancing architectural construction waste management practices in Edo State’s building industry: Towards sustainable material use. International Journal of Advances in Engineering and Management, 1154–1170. https://ijaem.net/issue_dcp/Enhancing%20Architectural%20Construction%20Waste%20Management%20Practices%20in%20Edo%20State%20s%20Building%20Industry%20Towards%20Sustainable%20Material%20Use.pdf

Ogunmakinde, O. E., Sher, W., & Maund, K. (2021). Construction and demolition waste management in developing countries. International Journal of Construction Management, 22(11), 2115–2125. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/15623599.2021.1874677

Ogunmakinde, O. E., Sher, W., & Maund, K. (2023). Construction and demolition waste management in a developing country: A Nigerian scenario. Journal of Sustainability Perspectives, 3(1), 1–10. https://ejournal2.undip.ac.id/index.php/jsp/article/view/15413

Oyedotun, T. D. T. (2025). Development of a construction waste management model based on design and execution decisions with a reduce, reuse, and recycle (R3) approach. Journal of Research in Multidisciplinary Engineering, 3(2), 1–15. https://www.journalrmde.com/index.php/jrmde/article/download/118/207/1409

Unegbu, H., & Yawas, D. (2024). Optimizing construction and demolition waste management in Nigeria: Challenges, regulatory frameworks, and policy solutions. Discover Civil Engineering, 1, Article 141. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44290-024-00142-3

Wu, H., Weng, X., Li, Y., Liu, S., Ma, J., Chen, R., Yu, B., & Bao, Z. (2024). Critical construction waste minimization strategies for a circular economy in developing countries: A contractor’s perspective in China. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. https://pure.hw.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/142670351/IEST.pdf