title: Environmental management of construction and demolition waste in Kuwait.
abstract: There is an increasing pressure on the construction industry to reduce costs and improve the quality of our environment. The fact is that both of these goals can be achieved at the same time. Although construction and demolition (C&D) constitutes a major source of waste in terms of volume and weight, its management and recycling efforts have not yet seen the light in Kuwait. This study focuses on recycling efforts leading to the minimization of the total C&D waste that is currently landfilled in Kuwait. This paper presents the current status of C&D waste disposal system in Kuwait and identifies the potential problems to the environment, people and economy. Then, it investigates alternative solutions to manage and control this major type of waste in an economically efficient and environmentally safe manner. Next, the paper describes the feasibility of establishing a C&D waste recycling facility in Kuwait. It concludes by highlighting the major benefits and bottleneck problems with such a recycling facility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, Kuwait University PO Box 5969, Safat 13060, Kuwait. kartam@kuc01.kuniv.edu.kw
authors.forename: Nabil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kartam
authors.forename: Nayef
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Al-Mutairi
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Al-Ghusain
authors.forename: Jasem
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Al-Humoud
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000191:economics; D003252:Construction Materials; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D007730:Kuwait; D018505:Waste Management / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D014866:Waste Products
chemical_list: D014866:Waste Products