Builders blasted for environmental impact

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The Al Warqa landfill site: with the huge profits the private sector is making off construction, it could afford to invest in the environment (Francisco Fernandez/ITP).

The construction industry has been named as one of the biggest polluters of the environment by the Emirates Environment Group (EEG).

The group is now calling on the sector to take more social responsibility towards the environment.

"The construction sector is believed to have one of the largest impacts on the environment in this region," said Habiba Al Marashi, EEG chairperson and member of the UN Global Compact.

Globally, the construction industry accounts for about 40% of the world's energy use and 40% of the use of the world's mineral-based materials, according to the British Constructional Steelwork Association.

"This has placed heavy demands not only on natural resources like aggregates, cement and sand, but also water, which is very scarce in this region. This in turn puts increasing pressure on desalination plants, resulting in higher carbon emissions and rising pollution levels," Marashi added.

But Mark Siddom, head of construction waste management at Dulsco believes that the only part of construction that is harmful to the environment is cement production, which for every tonne of cement made, a tonne of carbon dioxide is produced.

He said: "Construction waste is not hazardous at all. About 70% of the waste that comes off construction sites is actually concrete, the production of which is quite environmentally unfriendly. But I don't see any other materials that are very damaging; it's different if you were talking about oil waste, but not construction material."

According to Samuel Keehn, environment and sustainable energy manager for Energy Management Services (EMS), construction waste is harmful to the environment, but only if it is not dealt with correctly.

"If it's actually broken down, recycled and reused in its proper components it can actually be a materials dream. But if it's piled up, in the ocean or out in the desert then it's going to be a problem to the ecosystem."

Marashi added that with the huge profits the private sector is reaping off the back of construction, it could afford to invest in the environment, while Siddom thinks it is up to the government to take responsibility for the environment and work with the waste management companies to come up with solutions to construction waste.

"I don't think it's the industry's responsibility - it should be a joint responsibility between the companies who handle waste and the government to come up with solutions," said Siddom.

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READERS' COMMENTS

Building and Environmental Impact
Posted by Gloria, Sharjah, UAE on Monday 26 November 2007 at 08:00 UAE time


Mr Siddon may believe that the only thing harmful to the environment is the concrete, however, what about all the emissions into the air from all the machinery creating smog and polluting the air and the impact of the sheer number of workers creating their impact on the environment. If you look out the window of a plane as it is coming in to land you will see the blanket of smog above the city. The fact that construction sites are removing the natural soil, tearing up any vestige of greenery and taking away valuable space by creating concrete jungles creates an impact which cannot be reversed.  
It is well and good to think about the money that will be generated by the construction, but one should think about the future not just the now. 
His comment stating that the government should be responsible for the removal and treatment of waste is "passing the buck". It is time that companies take responsibility for the problems of their own making. We all have a responsibility to the protection of the planet. It is the only one we have. Companies in construction should be ratified with eco-friendly tags "green ratings" as to how much impact that they generate during their business. In this way we make them take responsibility for their actions by ensuring they maintain a minimum standard of operation with the least impact on the environment.

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