Site-Audit Quantification of Construction and Demolition Waste Generation in Kitwe, Zambia: A Copperbelt Baseline for Circular Construction under the Solid Waste Regulation and Management Act, 2018

Introduction. No site-measured CDW generation dataset exists for any Zambian city. Kitwe, a Copperbelt urban centre of substantial construction activity and routine demolition exemplifies this evidentiary void, which the Solid Waste Regulation and Management Act, No. 20 of 2018 cannot remedy, as it classifies construction waste as solid waste without any CDW-specific guideline.

Methods. On-site audits are conducted at five to ten active construction sites recruited through the National Council for Construction contractor registry. Generation is quantified via skip-weighing, volumetric estimation, and material-composition counts, applying the UN-Habitat Waste-Wise Cities Tool for methodological consistency. Outputs comprise generation rates normalised to floor area (kg/m²) and project value, composition fractions (concrete, masonry, mortar, steel, timber, plastics), and disposal pathways. A complementary contractor questionnaire (n≈30) assesses Site Waste Management Plan uptake and recycled-aggregate willingness.

Results. Anticipated outcomes (study in design phase) include the first Kitwe-specific generation-rate benchmark, a quantified composition profile identifying dominant recoverable streams, and characterisation of prevailing disposal practice against regulatory expectation. Questionnaire data are expected to locate the principal behavioural and market constraints on diversion.

Conclusions. The study yields primary baseline data of a kind presently absent in Zambia, furnishing an empirical foundation for ZEMA and Kitwe City Council policy and for subsequent recycled-aggregate feasibility work. As a poster-stage pilot, generation figures are provisional and site-sample dependent; the contribution lies in establishing a transferable measurement protocol for Copperbelt municipalities rather than in definitive national extrapolation.