The extent of design for disassembly practice in Uganda's construction Industry : a case of promoting circularity.

Abstract

The construction industry and built environment are the largest consumers of raw materials and generators of waste globally, driven by the traditional linear "take, make, dispose" economic model (Cruz Rios & Grau, 2020). However, this model is being challenged by evolving demographic trends and societal changes, which are increasing pressure on virgin resources and building materials that are becoming increasingly scarce (Dimitra Tzourmakliotou, 2021). As a result, the industry's sustainability is being questioned, and there is need for alternative approaches to meet the changing demands. The research explored to establish why amongst the several interventions made to reduce Construction and Demolition waste, there has been limited application of a cardinal concept such as Design for Disassembly in Uganda’s industry. The study was exploratory in nature adopting a mixed research approach to achieve the research outcomes. The data was collected using a Structured Questionnaire from a population of 1650 professionals and with sample size of 322 professionals consisting of Architects, Engineers and Quantity Surveyors largely practicing within the jurisdiction of Central Region. The Quantitative data was analysed by inferential statistics techniques namely, Chi-Square test, Relative Importance Index (RII), while the qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis of responses obtained. The findings showed that awareness of DfD among Uganda’s professionals was generally moderate to low, regardless of years of experience or level of university education. This addressed Objective No. One. The Modular and Pre-fabricated construction were the major DfD techniques currently in use, while material labelling, deconstruction plans and reversible joints ranked lowest. This addressed Objective No. 2. The study showed that Legal / regulatory , technical and education barriers ranked strongest in hindering DfD uptake while the economic barriers ranked lowest , however emphasized the critical need to address education and perception barriers among stakeholders to spur significant growth of the DfD concept. This addresses Objective No. 3. Although general applicability of DfD principles is low, the study highlighted the high importance of embedding DfD in Uganda’s design regime.