Application of RFID and Mobile Technology to Plaster Board Waste in the Construction Industry

1. Introduction Protection of the environment is one of the most sensitive topics of recent years and recognition of its importance is resulting in more effective recycling and reuse of material. Simply disposing of waste through landfill or burning, as was historically the case, will damage our environment. Nowadays, a number of government initiatives and environmental pressure groups are seeking more environmental, socially responsible methods of disposal. Undoubtedly, recycling is the best solution for protecting our environment by ‘waste management’. In general, waste management is the administration of collection, transport, processing, recycling and/or disposal of waste materials(McBean et al., 1995). Currently, it usually includes reduction and auditing activities for the protection of human health and the environment by producing less waste and by using it as a resource wherever possible. This type of waste management is known as ‘sustainable waste management’– reduction, re-use, recycling, composting and using waste as a source of energy (DEFRA, 2007). Today, waste generation and disposal has become a serious problem. Each year, approximately 335 Mt of waste are produced in the UK most of which is produced in England. In 2005, 272 Mt were produced in England, much more than Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which produce less than 25% of the total UK waste (DEFRA, 2007). Information from the Environment Agency (EA) and SEPA (Scotland’s Environmental Regulator and Adviser) indicated there were 4.12 Mt of hazardous waste produced in England and Wales (EA, 2007), with an additional 4,430 tonnes produced in Scotland (SEPA(Scotland), 2007). In 2006, this increased to 6 Mt in England and Wales (EA, 2008a). In general, waste is a combination of many types of material, and most of them are harmful and polluting. Waste takes many years to break down, and can pollute water courses and the land even when it is carefully disposed of, especially the hazardous or controlled waste. However, fly-tipping and incorrect land filling of these types of waste will cause heavy pollution and damage to the environment. The UK produces over 1 million tonnes (Mt) of plasterboard waste per annum, of which only up to 7% is being recycled whilst the majority has been land filled which causes a potential environmental problem. Plasterboard waste contains a high percentage of gypsum which has resulted in serious problems because of the emission of hydrogen sulphide gas (H2S) once it is land filled with organic waste. According to DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), it can be anticipated that the volume of plasterboard waste will increase over the next 15 years due to the expansion of usage and the rise in construction projects. Another example is medical waste; it usually contains infectious materials, drugs and sharp objects such as syringes, which are undoubtedly harmful waste that contains a large number of viruses, bacteria and harmful chemical reagents. In the UK, only a few recycling facilities are available in England, and it is usual for the recycling companies to take plasterboard waste from construction or demolition sites themselves, and charge a transportation fee. Depending on the distance to the recycling facilities, transportation fees can be expensive, and exceed the landfill mono-cell costs. Consequently, increasing recycling is a viable route to prevent environmental problems. To improve the recycling rate, a tracking and auditing system is needed to prevent fly tipping and other illegal disposal. A novel waste management prototype is outlined based on identification technology, current waste management process and reasoning techniques. In this chapter, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology is introduced which can potentially improve the waste management efficiency. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an automatic identification technology used in assets tracking and logistics support in supply chain management by substituting barcodes with RFID tags.