Problem: The management of Construction and demolition waste has been a global challenge for the past decades. This is because of the negative effects of Construction and Demolition Waste in our economic, social and environmental life. Several management methods and regulatory procedures has been put in place to mitigate the menace of construction and demolition waste, yet there is still a lot to do. Construction and demolition waste are classified into two major types; the hazardous, which most often, covers the combustible CDW, and the non-hazardous. Whilst the onsite management of non-hazardous is easier and has been established, “hazardous/combustible mixed waste” has become a big problem for the construction firms. Onsite sorting is presently, one of the major known methods to manage CDW, but it has remained unclear with hazardous CDW. This generated some questions as to know how construction firms manage hazardous CDW on site, what the regulations recommend and how effective are the regulations?

Purpose: This thesis

(a) Summarizes how small and medium size construction firms presently manage hazardous/combustible and /or mixed CDW on site.

(b) The applicable regulations and their effectiveness.

(c) Proposes various measures and strategies to improve the management of construction and demolition waste.

Method: A qualitative study was conducted through interviews, based on theme with focus on management of CDW on construction sites.  Primary empirical data were collected from active construction site managers and environmental regulatory officers from Sweden. The empirical data were analysed by Thematic Analysis approach as proposed by Braun & Clarke (2006). 

Findings: The outcome of our study reveals poor management of hazardous/combustible CDW. The construction firms do not sort hazardous/combustible and/or mixed CDW on sites and they do not keep good record of the quantities of CDW that flows in and out the sites. This shared responsibility is presently abandoned for the recycling firms by the construction firms. It was also revealed that there is a vacuum in the regulation and the existing regulations are not perfectly effective, as practiced by the construction and recycling companies.