Pre-Construction
Building design
Decisions made at the design phase can profoundly influence the levels of waste generated during construction and occupation. Designing the building to maximise use of standard material sizes for plaster, timber and bricks can significantly reduce waste off-cuts and the cost associated with their handling and disposal.
Making decisions that consider waste rarely incur extra cost and can open the door for design innovation. These tools and links provide information about minimising waste through design.
This booklet, produced in association with the Building Designers Association of Victoria, provides information about approp riate design strategies and the environmental and cost benefits of waste minimisation.
BDP Environment Design Guide
This guide, produced by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA), is a comprehensive single source of information on environmental design issues specifically tailored to the needs of Australia's planning and building design professionals. A product of the Australian Council of Building Design Professions, it provides reliable, timely and accessible information, all written with the design practitioner in mind. Copies available from the RAIA website.
See Also
Advice and resources on Energy Smart Housing and Commercial Buildings as well as Energy Smart appliances that might be installed and used once the building is operational.
Specification
Specifying used materials or materials with recycled content supports the waste minimisation process.
In addition specifiers can minimise incoming packaging waste by ordering in bulk when appropriate, asking suppliers to avoid unnecessary packaging and being mindful of over-ordering or over-estimating.
EcoSpecifier website is a guide to sourcing environmentally preferable materials that are commercially available in Australia. Created by RMIT, in conjunction with EcoRecycle, EcoSpecifier also contains information on the attributes of each material, how to deal with suppliers and check on the environmental claims made.
For More Information
Contact Sustainability Victoria by email or telephone our InfoLine 1800 35 32 33 (freecall Victoria only).
Top | Last updated 20/08/2008
