DANIDA Danish International Development Assistance. NREB Natural Resources and Environment Board Sarawak

Transcription

1 NREB Natural Resources and Environment Board Sarawak Managing Construction Waste - A Sarawak Experience January 2004 DANIDA Danish International Development Assistance

2 Danida / Sarawak Government UEMS Project Natural Resources and Environment Board Managing Construction Waste - A Sarawak Experience January 2004 Note no. UEMS_TEC_03-27 Issue no. 1 Date of issue 26 January 2004 Prepared THH Checked ILA Approved

3 Managing Construction Waste A Sarawak Experience Tang Hung Huong 1, Ib Larsen 2 1. Background In Malaysia construction waste is generally not properly managed. Managing the construction waste is normally the responsibility of developers and contractors. This responsibility is stipulated by the authorities as one of the conditions for approval of the projects, whether in EIAs or in building permits. However, the conditions are often formulated in very general terms, which do not give any specific direction to the developers or contractors. The conditions usually mainly concern cleanliness of the site. No precise information is available on the amount, management or disposal of construction waste. No proper recording on the construction waste and its fate is normally performed. Today, no dedicated construction waste treatment facility has been established. Thus, landfilling is the only legal option for disposal, however, with different scenario and conditions in the local areas. As the fees charged at landfills are expected to increase, in line with the environmental improvements of landfill sites, the risk for illegal dumping of construction waste are expected to increase simultaneously. This is due to the large amounts of construction waste and the consecutive economic consequences of the rising fees. Illegal dumping of construction waste in Sarawak is already substantial. A survey of illegal dumpsites around Kuching in 2002 identified 62 new illegal dumpsites. An investigation of its composition indicates that more than half the illegal dumped waste at the sites derives from construction works. 1 Environmental Control Officer, Natural Resources and Environment Board, Sarawak 2 Chief Technical Advisor for Sarawak Government DANCED Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) Project ( ) and Sarawak Government-DANIDA Urban Environmental Management System (UEMS) Project ( ) 1

4 When properly sorted, construction waste is inert, posing no hazardous treat to the environment. At the same time sorted construction waste can be recycled at low costs, and the non-recyclable inert materials can be deposited at separate landfills dedicated for inert materials at a similar low cost. Therefore, a facility for recycling of construction waste should be established. This would help improving the management of construction waste and assist in combating illegal dumping. 2. Construction waste in Kuching 2.1 Generation Presently, no proper registration of construction waste is taking place in Sarawak. In order to design a strategy for managing construction waste, it is however, required to establish an overview of the generated waste amounts and types. The Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB), assisted by DANCED 3 (Danish Cooperation for Environment and Development) therefore in 2001 undertook some estimations of the amount of construction waste generated. The estimations were based on size of building area being constructed; international standards for construction waste per capita and calculation of truckloads of construction waste from large construction sites. Based on the calculations it was estimated that approximately 100,000 tonnes of construction waste were generated in Kuching per year 4. This amount corresponds to the amount of residential waste generated in the City per year (95,000 tonnes). This amount of construction waste is expected to increase dramatically in the future, in view of the rapid growth of the City. Presently the City mainly grows by expanding its geographical area. Therefore only minor amounts of demolition waste are generated. However, when renewal of existing build-up areas takes off, the amount of construction waste is expected to increase many fold. 3 DANCED was dissolved and replaced by DANIDA (Danish International Development Assistance) since Tang et al. (2003). Solid Waste Management in Kuching. Sarawak Government-Danida 2003, p.79 2

5 The composition of construction waste in Kuching was also estimated. The estimations were based on surveys at a few major construction sites 5. The findings are tabulated in Table 1 below. Table 1: Typical fractions and compositions of construction waste in Sarawak Waste fractions Composition (%) Concrete 80 Wood 15 Paper, plastics, cardboard 1 Metal 4 Transportation Based on the observations made during the above surveys at major construction sites, it can roughly be estimated that 50% of the construction waste does not leave the construction site at all. It is either used for site preparation, dumped onsite or open burnt 6. The remaining construction waste is transported by private transporters engaged by developers or contractors. Some of the waste is disposed of at informal dumpsites on private land and some of the waste is illegal dumped at road reserves or idle land. Only minor amounts are received at the public dumpsite. There are five main contractors, which transport most of the construction waste. About 50 private tipper trucks are involved in transporting the waste. Large construction sites require, on average, 5 trips per day to dispose the waste generated. For smaller construction sites such as the construction of residential houses, only 0.5 trips per day are usually required 7. Scrap metal is usually collected for recycling. Construction waste from small-scale renovation works are transported by a large number of small transporters. A large part of such waste ends up at the identified illegal dumpsites. 5 Tang et al. (2003). Solid Waste Management in Kuching. Sarawak Government-Danida 2003, p.82 6 Tang et al. (2003). Solid Waste Management in Kuching. Sarawak Government-Danida 2003, p Tang et al. (2003). Solid Waste Management in Kuching. Sarawak Government-Danida 2003, p.103 3

6 2.3 Disposal The only legal facility available for disposal of construction waste for Kuching City is the Matang dump site which is located about 14 km northwest of the Kuching city centre at Jalan Matang. This facility hardly receives any construction waste Composition of Illegal Dumped Waste The composition of the waste found at the illegal dumpsites has also been also determined. Based on site observations, it can be confirmed, that the majority of waste dumped is related to construction activities. On top of the specific construction waste found (concrete, bricks etc.) around 70% of scrap metals and wooden crates for packaging are observed to originate from construction sites. Therefore, it is estimated that not less than 50% of the waste dumped illegally derives from construction works. Figure 1 below shows the composition of illegal dumped waste surveyed in Construction waste 25% Wooden crates 25% Saw dust 8% Scrap metals 16% Rubbish (combustile) 11% Rubbish (non combustile) 10% Green waste 3% Figure 1: Composition of illegally dumped waste 8 The Matang facility was closed in December 2003, when the new sanitary landfill at Mambong 20 km south of town opened up for receiving waste. However, the Matang facility still receives construction waste, as this waste is used for the safe closure measurements for the dumpsite. Construction waste is received at RM12/tonne or RM40/truck. Nevertheless, the facility still only receives very limited amount of construction waste 9 Tang et al. (2003). Solid Waste Management in Kuching. Sarawak Government-Danida 2003, p

7 3. Current Regulation on Construction Waste Management in Sarawak 3.1 General Legal Regulatory Tools Regulatory tools set the framework for the actions of individual actors in society. The regulatory tools can be divided into 3 categories: Prior approvals an approval must be obtained before the activity can be initiated Rules Activities have to apply to certain specified criteria applicable to all similar activities Orders - specific directions issued to individual activities when orders are used as the regulatory tool, the current practises of the activates will remain legal until an order is issued Prior approvals can be in the form of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), License or Permission. Rules can be prohibitions to perform certain activities, or it can specify criteria for performing certain activities or specify standards for discharge of the residues from the activity. Orders are specific directions to individual construction sites to stop certain activities or to carry out certain activities. In 2001, the NREB with assistance of the DANCED scrutinised the existing regulatory provisions of relevance for construction sites in Sarawak 10. Regarding prior approvals, EIAs and permissions are used. Permissions are currently required for construction works (building and occupation permits) and for disposal of waste at other sites than dedicated landfills. Regarding rules, only prohibition towards disposal of waste outside dedicated areas is used. Orders can be issued by a 10 Larsen, Ib (2001). Current Regulations on Solid and Liquid wastes in Sarawak. Sarawak Government- DANCED

8 number of agencies. An overview of existing regulatory principles is given in Table 2 below: Table 2: Existing regulatory principles in Sarawak on solid waste Category Principle Example Prior approvals EIA Permission Conditions in EIAs for construction sites Permission for specific disposal activities Rules Prohibition Prohibition against disposal of waste outside designated areas Orders Orders and directives Specific directions to individual sites on the manner in which waste should be handled, prepared and deposited for collection and removal 3.2 Existing Regulation for Construction Waste In Sarawak Construction waste can be regulated at all steps of its waste flow: generation transportation and disposal. In the following, the existing regulation will be presented, divided into the 3 steps of the waste flow Generators (Construction Sites) According to Section 11a of the Natural Resources and Environment Ordinance (NREO), an EIA from the NREB is required prior to the commencement of the project for housing estates larger than 10 ha and for industrial estates. In the EIA conditions, it is possible to include provisions on the solid waste management. However, such conditions have only rarely been given. Waste related conditions usually focus on the cleanliness of the sites after completion, but do not include the management of the solid waste during the construction period or the disposal of the solid waste, which are transported away from the site. Conditions may include a deposit to be paid to the relevant local council. The release of the deposit after project completion will depend on the cleanliness (cleanup) of the site and will currently not depend on the legal disposal of the waste. 6

9 The EIA requirement does not apply to the majority of projects, which are less than 10 ha. However, such projects still require a building permit issued by local authorities prior to commencement of the project and an occupation permit (OP) before the building can be occupied. The council may attach relevant conditions to the permissions. Conditions could include the solid waste management. However, currently such conditions are rarely given. When conditions on solid waste are actually given in EIAs and permissions, they are often of general character, which do not allow for concrete enforcement 11. According to section 112 of the Local Authorities Ordinance (LAO), the local authorities may issue orders towards accumulation of waste (accumulation of deposit). According to section 46 of the Local Authorities Cleanliness Bylaw (LAC), the local authorities may also issue orders on periodically removal of waste from the premises. However, the above mentioned surveys did not identify situations, where these provisions have been utilised towards construction sites. According to section 9 (4) of the LAC the local authorities can direct premises on the manner in which the waste should be handled, prepared or deposited for collection and removal. The last provisions give the local authorities power to act in individual cases of obvious unsatisfactory waste management at construction sites. However, using orders as the regulatory measure restricts the efforts to a case-to-case basis Transporters According to section 9 of the LAC, the local authorities may determine or establish a system for the collection, removal and disposal of waste of any description. This provision is the main warrant for the public solid waste collection schemes. According to section 9 (3), the authorities may appoint any company to undertake 11 EIA conditions currently used may include Construction waste should be regularly collected and transported out for disposal at approved dumping ground. Waste to be disposed of regularly to the nearest approved disposal site within the project site or other government approved site 7

10 these services. However, the public waste collection schemes typically only focus on domestic waste. For the case of the Kuching City, the waste collection has been contracted or delegated to a German company, Trienekens (Sarawak) Sdn. Bhd. In principle the scheme includes construction waste. However, in practise only insignificant amount of construction waste is collected according the public collection scheme. The majority of the construction waste is collected by private transporters. According to the section 51 of the LAC, the local authorities may determine that transportation of industrial waste 12 require a license from the councils. The authorities may attach conditions to the license. Such conditions may e.g. relate to the collection of the waste, to spillage and to the disposal sites that may be utilised by the transporter. However, the power to impose such licensing as criteria for transporting the waste has not yet been utilised Disposal Under the Section 42 of LAC, the local authorities may as part of the collection and removal system for waste, provide disposal facilities. However, according to Section 42(2) the authorities may also refuse to accept waste brought to public disposal facilities. This is especially relevant for construction waste, which may be rejected due to the vast amount. This has e.g. been the case for the town of Kapit. In such case, the local authorities according to Section 43(2) of the LAC may require the workplaces of premises to construct and operate disposal facilities for their own wastes. Such waste disposal sites and other waste facilities require an EIA according to the NREO section 11a. Establishing disposal facilities further require permission from the local authorities according to LAC section 43(1). Any person who intends to dispose of solid waste to any other land requires permission from the NREB according to the NREO section According to section 2 of the LAC, industrial waste includes construction waste 8

11 According to section 51 of the LAC the local authorities may further decide that waste disposal require a license from the local council. This power has current not been utilised. As it appears, a number of provisions are actually available to regulate the management of construction waste. However, the existing provisions are currently not much used. This is do large extent due to fact that no coherent strategy and system for the desired management is in place. A summary of these regulations is showed in Table 3. Table 3: Existing regulation on disposal for solid waste in Sarawak Regulation Section Detail Description LAC 42 (1) Local authorities may as part of the collection and removal system for waste, provide disposal facilities 42 (2) Local authorities may refuse to accept waste brought to public disposal facilities 43 (1) Permission by local authorities to establish disposal facilities is required. 43 (2) Local authorities may require the workplaces of premises to construct and operate disposal facilities for their own wastes 51 Local authorities may further decide that waste disposal require a license from the local council NREO 11a Waste disposal sites and other waste facilities require an EIA by NREB 30 Any person who intends to dispose of solid waste to any other land requires permission from the NREB On the other hand, vast regulation is in place regarding what not to do with the construction waste. In the following section, we will look into this regulation. Provisions against Illegal Dumping A number of ordinances contain provisions towards illegal dumping of waste. The provisions are often overlapping and some times even contradictorily. Activities that may require permission according to one ordinance may be strictly prohibited 9

12 according to another ordinance. As a consequence many different departments are involved in activities towards illegal dumping. In 2001, the NREB with assistance of the DANCED scrutinised the existing regulatory provisions towards illegal dumping, and proposed adjustments 13. Table 4 below states the existing provisions on illegal dumping in Sarawak. Table 4 Existing regulations on illegal dumping in Sarawak Agency Provision Local Authorities LAO 111/112 LAC 13, 18, 20, 44 Power to issue orders Prohibition against dumping Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) NREO 30 NREO 30B Prohibition unless permitted Prohibition unless carrying out an activity otherwise permitted Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) 14 SRC 15 SRC 16 Prohibition Notification Department of Environment (DOE) 15 EQA SR 10 EQA 21 EQA 31 Prohibition unless prior permission Power to issue standards Power to issue orders Additional specific regulations are inserted in the Water Ordinance, the Veterinary Public Health Ordinance and the Protection of Public Health Ordinance among others. Data Improving the management of construction waste first of all require information on the amount, types and flow of construction waste. As mentioned above no proper recording of construction waste is currently taking place. 13 Jensen, Hanne and Larsen, Ib (2002). Regulation of Illegal Dumping of Solid Waste to Land in Sarawak. Sarawak Government-DANCED Sarawak Rivers Board is only involved in those activities taking place along the banks of gazetted rivers 15 DOE is only involved in those activities where disposal of waste has a deteriorating impact on the environment 10

13 According to LAC section 47, the local authorities can direct enterprises to provide data on the amount and management of the waste. However, the directions have to be issued to the individual enterprises and repeated from time to time, making it a measure unsuitable as background for acquiring the required information. 4 Future Management of Construction Waste Based on the above situation, a strategy for improved management of construction waste is required. Such a strategy must include a number of components: To ensure that a legal cost-efficient, easy accessible and environmental friendly technical disposal system is available. To ensure that the required legal provisions to direct the waste streams towards the established system are adopted. To ensure that non-desired means of disposing construction waste are made illegal. To ensure the provision of sufficient data on the waste flow to manage the waste streams. 4.1 Physical Improvements First of all, legal cost-efficient and easy accessible facilities for the desired treatment or recycling of the construction waste have to be made available. Legal provisions on the management of construction waste will have no meaning if no proper legal technical option is available. When pre-sorted properly, construction waste is generally inert and easily recyclable. At the same time, disposal of pre-sorted construction waste at modern sanitary landfills is normally not desired, due the high cost of establishing sanitary landfills and the low potential environmental impact imposed from the construction waste. Only a certain amount of construction waste is requested by the landfills for internal 11

14 roads, coverage etc. The major part of the waste may instead be recycled and the remaining non-recyclable part be deposited in less expensive inert landfills 16. Establishing a recycling plant for construction waste is therefore a major component of the construction waste strategy for the city of Kuching. The plant is proposed located at the new state-of-the-art landfill at Mambong, or at the former abandoned landfill in Matang. Previously constructed landfills cells are still available for locating the recycling facility here. Picture 1: Construction Waste Recycling, Denmark In principle, a recycling plant for construction waste should be economically selfsustaining. Large parts of the city are located on low-laying totally levelled areas and large parts are located on unstable ground (peat swamp or soft-clay). At the same time the city is growing fast, with many development projects taking place simultaneously. This situation imposes a large demand for land reclamation- and construction materials. Due to the specific geological features access to virgin materials in the vicinity at the same time is limited. 16 Lauritzen, Erik (2001). The challenge of Recycling Construction and Demolition Waste focusing on the city of Kuching Sarawak. In Chong et. al. Environmental Performance. Sarawak Government- DANCED

15 However, virgin gravel materials can still be acquired for very low price (RM18 RM per tonne). This fact reduces the demand for recycled material seriously. The supply of construction waste for the recycling plant therefore has to be ensured by legislation, strict enforcement and increased awareness. This situation creates a delicate chicken-and-egg situation, as nobody would invest in a recycling plant if the legislation is not in place and the legislation cannot be put in place, as there is no legal facility available. An important approach for the strategy therefore is to establish the facility and adopt new regulation simultaneously. 4.2 Legal Improvements The possible legal improvements are currently being discussed. Experiences from regulation of construction waste in other countries have also been collected 17. Some of the ideas that have been presented are discussed below Generation To improve construction waste management, the waste flow has to be organised right from the generation of the waste. The construction waste has to be pre-sorted according to the different types of subsequent treatment and stored at proper dedicated areas at the site until removal. The developer should be requested to prepare a detailed waste management plan. The waste management plan may include: Documentation of waste storage on site (including a site lay-out map) Logistic information from waste generation to disposal Waste amounts and types transporters engaged and disposal sites used Internal waste organisation including appointed responsible staff. 17 Madsen, Lisbeth (2001). Establishment of a Collection and Treatment System for Construction and Demolition Waste in Sarawak. Sarawak Government-Danced

16 In most countries, the preparation of this plan is the responsibility of the developer, although the actual construction work usually is contracted to a large or small number of contractors. The developer will remain fully liable throughout the implementation of the project. This requires the developer to be very careful when preparing contracts, and to establish an internal site inspection function 18. The responsibility of the developer does not abolish the parallel responsibility of contractors actually performing (or not-performing) the required tasks. For smaller construction sites, the pre-sorting may be unfeasible. In such cases, construction waste can often be delivered to the disposal site non-sorted, but this will typically impose a higher fee at the treatment facility, as the facility will have to undertake the sorting process. The requirement of the waste management plan should be imposed as a condition in the EIAs for large development, and should be punishable in case of noncompliance. Similar conditions should be imposed in building permits, and subsequently occupation permits should be depending on compliance with the waste management plan. The state government of Sarawak has decided that a deposit shall be imposed on new development projects. The release of the deposit should similarly be depending on compliance with the waste management plan Transportation and treatment As described above, nearly no construction waste is currently received at the legal disposal or treatment facilities in Kuching. This underlines the size of the task improving construction waste management. In many countries, the proper disposal of the waste remains the responsibility of the developer. Upon completion of the development project, it is a duty of the developer to document that all construction waste has been delivered to legal disposal sites. In Denmark, it is the duty of the developer to keep the 18 Copenhagen EPA: MIljomaessige forholdsregler ved bygge- og anlaegsarbejder Copenhagen EPA 2001, section 2 14

17 documentation for legal disposal for 5 years. This will typically be in the form of receipts for payment, whereby the transactions can be compared to the records at transporters and disposal facilities. In Denmark, the developer has to notify the authorities on the amount of construction waste that is expected to be produced before commencement of the project implementation. The authorities then after the project completion can request the documentation for the legal disposal of the notified amounts. The presence of construction waste at a construction site, which is not notified, is an offence, which may be penalised. The issuing of occupation permits and release of deposits should be made subject to the documentation of legal disposal of the construction waste. The liability of the developer for the legal disposal is often objective, meaning that it makes no different if a transporter dispose of the waste illegally without the consent of the developer. This put a strong emphasis on the process of contracting for the developer. The objective liability for the legal disposal may be waived if the waste is delivered to a public collection system. This will correspond to collection systems according to the LAO section 9. In this case, the authorities take over the responsibility, upon collection. In other cases, the authorities have established a system of licensed transporter. Exclusive rights to transport for a limited number of licensees are sometimes used to ensure high quality performance. When a developer uses a licensed transporter, his liability may similarly be waived. In this case, the transporter will typically loose his license immediately when illegal disposal is observed. The responsibility of the transporter is not abolished by the objective liability of the developer. The responsibility of the transporter is typically similarly objective. In addition to the legal penalty, vehicles used for illegal dumping will often be confiscated, no matter if the dumping has been done with or without the consent of the transporting company. 15

18 For small renovation works, the above system with waste management plans and licensed transporters may seem too complicated. However, proper management of such small construction sites is still very important, as they accounts for a large number of the observed cases of illegal dumping. The reason for the illegal dumping is often, that legal disposal facilities are too distant located for driving with small amounts. To overcome this problem, many countries has established a network of easy accessible recycling stations, where small vans for a nominal fee or free of charge can deliver small amounts of construction waste. However it is usually required that the waste is sorted by fraction into different containers at the centre, depending of the type of subsequent treatment of the individual fractions. Picture 2: Recycle station, Denmark Driving with such small amounts of construction waste to a local recycling centre does usually not require a license as a transporter. Only the transport of the waste from the centre to the treatment plants still requires license. Figure 2: The proper framework for the construction waste management (for small generators) Individual/un-Licensed transporters Licensed transporters Waste Generator Pre-sorting site Recycling Plant 16

19 4.2.3 Illegal dumping The present regulation towards illegal dumping has to be simplified. This is to avoid uncertainties among the state agencies on the distribution of tasks and to avoid any confusion in the public on the entrusted authority. As presented in Table 4, a number of agencies and provisions are currently involved. A framework for the revisions has been proposed based on an assessment of the original intentions behind the current provisions 19. The proposed framework recommends that dumping outside the dedicated treatment facilities should generally be prohibited. However, a proper system for issuing permits for disposal of sorted construction waste under certain specified circumstances should be developed. Among the circumstances where permits may be issued are necessary land preparations for development projects. The framework proposes that the overall authority for the waste management system should be the local councils. The tasks include the operation of the public waste collection and treatment system, the environmental performance at the construction sites, the management of the deposit system for development projects, the possible licensing system for transporters and the enforcement of the regulation towards illegal transport and dumping. The NREB is proposed as the authority issuing EIAs for development projects and waste treatment facilities and permits for disposal outside dedicated areas. Permits for minor temporary storages on public areas in relation to small private businesses may, however, could still be delegated to the local authorities to facilitate daily administration. The NREB may also be the authority for large cases of illegal dumping, which may have significant detrimental impact on the environment whereas the DOE is responsible for scheduled waste. 19 Jensen, Hanne and Larsen, Ib (2002). Regulation of Illegal Dumping of Solid Waste to Land in Sarawak. Sarawak Government-DANCED 2002, p 37 17

20 4.3 Incentives In many countries, recycling of construction waste is promoted by imposing a state tax on construction waste being landfilled, and by exempting construction waste delivered for recycling from the tax. However, this tool requires improved enforcement, rendering the possibility of illegal dumping to avoid the tax impossible. 4.4 Data To design and operate a proper construction waste system, comprehensive mapping and registration of waste amounts and flow is required. A database on construction sites should be established, encompassing all building projects requiring EIA or building permit. Entry of data to the database has accordingly to be possible from the local council as well as from the NREB. Construction sites should be obliged to report on the expected and generated waste amounts and their disposal. This should be seen in relation to the discussion on notification above. When these data are properly keyed into the database, an overview will be easy accessible for planning and operation purposes and for enforcement purposes. The obligation to report on the waste amounts should be included in EIAs and building permits. 4.4 Products from recycling facilities To achieve the environmental benefits of the improvements, it is a pre-condition that the recycled products from the recycling facility can be utilised. International experiences show that a large amount of recycled construction products can be utilised for simple low-quality purposes as ground stabilisation for development projects, bottom layers for road construction etc. Use of the recycled products for such purposes will increase the lifespan for available virgin resources in the area. Use of recycled products for more advanced purposes will require elaboration of 18

21 precise specifications and certifications of the products. The liability of the contractors often abstain them from using secondary materials, which properties are not fully documented. Researches and tests are required to establish standards and specifications for such high quality secondary materials. Internationally, the use of secondary materials is sometimes promoted through legal requirements, which obliges developers to use a certain amount of recycled material in development projects. 5. Public Contracts The public sector; is not only a legal body. It is also a major developer. This opens the door to another major tool for improved construction waste management: the state development contracts. Conditions on improved waste management may be included as standard conditions for contractors and subcontractors in state development contracts. Contract conditions on solid waste management may concern most of the issues discussed above. In many countries, improving contracts has proven to be a faster (and still efficient) tool than adoption of new legislation. 6. Awareness and Private Sector Initiatives Regulation and establishing of the required facilities can only to a certain degree lead to the desired improvements. If the efforts are not generally understood and accepted within the construction sector, the obstacles may easily be too plentiful and the achievements correspondingly limited. A large part of the improvements has to be undertaken by the sector itself. It is therefore crucial, that a consensus among the stakeholders on the need to improve the environmental performance is achieved. Awareness rising therefore becomes a key element in the strategy. The awareness raising activities has to be planned in close cooperation with the construction sector. The Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB) has already taken important steps in this direction. A milestone in this approach was the introduction 19

22 of the CIDB 3-stage EMS Certification System for Contractors 20. This type of initiatives may lead to a steadily increased attention towards the environmental performance in the sector. CIDB has similarly expressed its interest in supporting the development of standard conditions on environmental performance to be used in private contracts on development projects. 7. Conclusion There are still far to go before a proper management system can be set up for construction waste in Sarawak. However, an overview of the existing physical and legal situation has been established. This overview constitutes an indispensable basis for the continued work. Different options for improving the performance have been compiled, as discussed above. Based on this work, the next step is to formulate the actual framework for the future management of construction waste in Sarawak. It is the hope that the future construction sector in Sarawak will become a model for how environmental friendly development can be. 20 Lee Jin (2001). The CIDB s 3-Stage Approach to EMS Certification for Contractors A Preliminary Draft. Paper presented at National Seminar on Environmental Management 2001 (EMS2001), June 2001, Legend Hotel, Kuala Lumpur 20