IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/recore/v53y2009i6p321-328.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Attitude and behavioral factors in waste management in the construction industry of Malaysia

Author

Listed:
  • Begum, Rawshan Ara
  • Siwar, Chamhuri
  • Pereira, Joy Jacqueline
  • Jaafar, Abdul Hamid

Abstract

In Malaysia, there has not yet been any widely published research that has described contractor attitudes and behaviors regarding waste management including waste reduction, reuse and recycling. Taken together, these attitudes and behaviors are crucial to understanding how construction waste management problems might be resolved. As the Malaysian construction industry is still labor-intensive, the attitudes and behaviors of individuals involved in this industry influence its growth and performance. This paper intends to provide insights on how contractor attitudes and behaviors affect waste management in the construction industry of Malaysia. A structured questionnaire survey was implemented in order to interview local contractors. This paper utilizes logistic regression analysis to assess the relationship between various factors affecting contractor attitudes and behaviors regarding waste management. The results show that contractor attitudes and behaviors regarding waste management tend to differ based on the size of the contractor, which is indicated by its group or category. Contractors that have positive attitudes toward waste management also have satisfactory behaviors, supporting Ajzen's theory of planned behavior. The important and significant factors that affect contractor attitudes toward waste management include contractor size, source reduction, reuse and recycling measures, frequency of waste collection, staff participation in training programs and waste disposal method. Factors such as construction-related education among employees, contractor experience in construction works, source-reduction measures, reuse of materials, waste disposal behaviors and attitudes toward waste management are the most significant factors affecting contractor behavior on waste management. These factors influence contractor attitudes and behaviors and are necessary to effectively improve waste management, growth and performance, as well as to reduce the environmental degradation of the construction industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Begum, Rawshan Ara & Siwar, Chamhuri & Pereira, Joy Jacqueline & Jaafar, Abdul Hamid, 2009. "Attitude and behavioral factors in waste management in the construction industry of Malaysia," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 321-328.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:53:y:2009:i:6:p:321-328
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2009.01.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344909000160
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resconrec.2009.01.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Helen Lingard & Peter Graham & Guinevere Smithers, 2000. "Employee perceptions of the solid waste management system operating in a large Australian contracting organization: implications for company policy implementation," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(4), pages 383-393.
    2. Bruce Mcdonald & Mark Smithers, 1998. "Implementing a waste management plan during the construction phase of a project: a case study," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 71-78.
    3. Begum, Rawshan Ara & Siwar, Chamhuri & Pereira, Joy Jacqueline & Jaafar, Abdul Hamid, 2006. "A benefit–cost analysis on the economic feasibility of construction waste minimisation: The case of Malaysia," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 86-98.
    4. Helen Lingard & Guinevere Gilbert & Peter Graham, 2001. "Improving solid waste reduction and recycling performance using goal setting and feedback," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(8), pages 809-817.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ajayi, Saheed O. & Oyedele, Lukumon O. & Bilal, Muhammad & Akinade, Olugbenga O. & Alaka, Hafiz A. & Owolabi, Hakeem A. & Kadiri, Kabir O., 2015. "Waste effectiveness of the construction industry: Understanding the impediments and requisites for improvements," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 101-112.
    2. Wang, Jiayuan & Yuan, Hongping & Kang, Xiangping & Lu, Weisheng, 2010. "Critical success factors for on-site sorting of construction waste: A china study," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 54(11), pages 931-936.
    3. Udawatta, Nilupa & Zuo, Jian & Chiveralls, Keri & Zillante, George, 2015. "Improving waste management in construction projects: An Australian study," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 73-83.
    4. Tam, Vivian W.Y. & Tam, C.M. & Le, K.N., 2007. "Removal of cement mortar remains from recycled aggregate using pre-soaking approaches," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 82-101.
    5. Wang, Jiayuan & Li, Zhengdao & Tam, Vivian W.Y., 2014. "Critical factors in effective construction waste minimization at the design stage: A Shenzhen case study, China," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 1-7.
    6. Noushin Islam & Malindu Sandanayake & Shobha Muthukumaran & Dimuth Navaratna, 2024. "Review on Sustainable Construction and Demolition Waste Management—Challenges and Research Prospects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-30, April.
    7. Marta Białko & Bożena Hoła, 2021. "Identification of Methods of Reducing Construction Waste in Construction Enterprises Based on Surveys," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-13, September.
    8. Shen, Li-yin & Tam, Vivian Wing-yan & Li, Chao-yang, 2009. "Benefit analysis on replacing in situ concreting with precast slabs for temporary construction works in pursuing sustainable construction practice," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 145-148.
    9. Ellen van der Werff & Chieh-Yu Lee, 2021. "Feedback to Minimize Household Waste a Field Experiment in The Netherlands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-21, August.
    10. Gi-Wook Cha & Young-Chan Kim & Hyeun Jun Moon & Won-Hwa Hong, 2017. "The Effects of Data Collection Method and Monitoring of Workers’ Behavior on the Generation of Demolition Waste," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-14, October.
    11. Begum, Rawshan Ara & Siwar, Chamhuri & Pereira, Joy Jacqueline & Jaafar, Abdul Hamid, 2006. "A benefit–cost analysis on the economic feasibility of construction waste minimisation: The case of Malaysia," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 86-98.
    12. Geanina Maria David & Elena Simina Lakatos & Laura Bacali & Gheorghe Daniel Lakatos & Brianna Alexandra Danu & Lucian-Ionel Cioca & Elena Cristina Rada, 2024. "Key Factors Influencing Consumer Choices in Wood-Based Recycled Products for Circular Construction Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-20, October.
    13. Lu, Weisheng & Yuan, Hongping, 2010. "Exploring critical success factors for waste management in construction projects of China," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 201-208.
    14. Lachimpadi, Suresh Kumar & Pereira, Joy Jacqueline & Taha, Mohd Raihan & Mokhtar, Mazlin, 2012. "Construction waste minimisation comparing conventional and precast construction (Mixed System and IBS) methods in high-rise buildings: A Malaysia case study," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 96-103.
    15. Gabriela Michalek & Ines Thronicker & Özgür Yildiz & Reimund Schwarze, 2019. "Habitually green: integrating the concept of habit into the design of pro-environmental interventions at the workplace [Gewohnheitsmäßig grün: Integration des Konzepts der Gewohnheit in die Gestalt," Sustainability Nexus Forum, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 113-124, June.
    16. Helen Lingard & Guinevere Gilbert & Peter Graham, 2001. "Improving solid waste reduction and recycling performance using goal setting and feedback," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(8), pages 809-817.
    17. M. M. M. Teo & M. Loosemore, 2001. "A theory of waste behaviour in the construction industry," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(7), pages 741-751.
    18. Muhammad Usman Shahid & Majid Ali, 2025. "Enablers and Policy Framework for Construction Waste Minimization Under Circular Economy: Stakeholder Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-26, May.
    19. Li, Mei & Yang, Jay, 2014. "Critical factors for waste management in office building retrofit projects in Australia," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 85-98.
    20. Ali Al-Otaibi & Patrick Aaniamenga Bowan & Aasem Alabdullatief & Majd Albaiz & Mona Salah, 2025. "Barriers to Sustainable Building Project Performance in Developing Countries: A Case of Ghana and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-25, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:53:y:2009:i:6:p:321-328. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kai Meng (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/resources-conservation-and-recycling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.