Critical success factors for developing construction and demolition waste management in China

In recent years, rapid urbanisation has caused a large volume of construction and demolition waste in China. Although China has introduced some documents and policies to manage the waste, these documents are not operable or detailed enough to guide the practice further. It is of great importance to analyse critical success factors (CSFs) that could contribute to the successful development of construction and demolition waste management in China. A survey questionnaire was delivered to 150 participants, with 121 responses returned. Eighteen CSFs were identified and evaluated. The results showed that five factors – namely, ‘polluter-pays principle’, ‘subsidies for recycling activities’, ‘waste minimisation at the planning stage’, ‘value-added tax deduction’ and ‘penalties on violations’ – were considered the most important factors. Additionally, differences among the perspectives of three groups of related stakeholders (researchers, industry practitioners and government officers) on the criticality of the 18 CSFs were investigated. ‘City plan for land use’ was considered to have significant disagreement among researchers and government officers. However, the perceptions of industry practitioners were significantly different from those of researchers and government officers. The disagreements might be caused by the different interests, needs and objectives of related stakeholders. The findings of this study will likely prompt the policymakers in China to consider relevant CSFs to enhance the performance of construction and demolition waste management.