Training for reduction of design waste

Construction and demolition (C&D) waste have negative impacts on the environment. As a significant proportion of\udC&D waste is related to the design stage of a project, there is an opportunity for architects to reduce the waste.\udHowever, research suggests that many architects often do not understand the impact of their design on waste\udgeneration. Training and education are proposed by current researchers to improve architects’ knowledge; however,\udthis has not been adequately validated as a viable approach to solving waste issues. This research investigates\udarchitects’ perceptions towards waste management in the design phase, and determines whether they feel they are\udadequately skilled in reducing C&D waste. Questionnaire surveys were distributed to architects from 98 architectural\udfirms and 25 completed surveys were returned. The results show that while architects are aware of the relationship\udbetween design and waste, ‘extra time’ and ‘lack of knowledge’ are the key barriers to implementing waste\udreduction strategies. In addition, the majority of respondents acknowledge their lack of skill to reduce waste through design evaluation. Therefore, training programmes can be a viable strategy to enable them to address the pressing issue of C&D waste reduction