State of Australian Cities Conference 2013 Industry constructions of waste in building life-cycles: Zero waste and beyond? Jasmine Palmer 1 , Lou Wilson 2 , Stephen Pullen 2 , Keri Chiveralls 2 , Jian Zou 2 and George Zillante 3 1 School of Art, Architecture and Design, University of South Australia 2 School of Natural and Built Environments, University of South Australia 3 School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Adelaide Abstract: The construction of ‘green buildings’ is promoted by industry organisations and professional bodies as a means of increasing the sustainability of cities. 'Green building' certification schemes and regulatory requirements address many challenges related to waste management, resource consumption, operational efficiency and life cycle performance. Less embraced in current practice is the notion of ‘designing out waste’ or ‘zero waste’ in our buildings and cities. This paper discusses research from an ARC funded project that is investigating ways to minimise waste from building conception to end of life. The aim is to understand how building procurement teams (clients, architects, designers, and planners, engineers, building contractors, facility managers and users) might move towards international best practice and total waste elimination. The project methodology incorporates a series of charrettes to develop, reflect on and refine a best practice model of designing, constructing and managing a zero waste building. This paper discusses outcomes from the first of four charrettes, which asked the building procurement team of a world leading ‘green building’ to reflect on their own perceptions and experiences in relation to managing waste. Importantly, the charrette unpacked the participants understanding of waste and their professional and personal role in its generation. Participants were also asked to envisage a ‘zero waste’ solution for future development of sustainable buildings. Knowledge gained from the analysis of data from this charrette will inform future stages of this project and provide a framework for the understanding of waste in the design and construction of sustainable built environments. The Waste Challenge For thousands of years human settlements have resulted in the generation and accumulation of waste products in the natural environment: waste products of man, animals, resource consumption and material processing. The shell middens of Indigenous Australians have been dated to more than 12,000 years old (DPCD, 2008) at various locations around the country, reminding us that all humans leave a trace of their existence and activity in any place which persists for an extended period of time. In the current context of ever increasing material consumption around the globe we must take the opportunity to consider the ‘trace’ which will remain from present day occupation. Our ever expanding and renewing cities and towns continually absorb and expel materials and physical wastes, with over 38% of Australia’s total solid waste generation being associated with the construction and demolition sector (Pink, 2010). The waste generated in our present day cities will undoubtedly have a far more significant and long lasting environmental impact than the coastal shell middens of the earlier occupants of the land. It is in this challenging context of unsustainable resource consumption and disposal that ‘Green Building’ certification schemes and waste regulations and policies have matured. While such certification schemes and legislative requirements seek to minimize harm and maximize material reuse it has been argued that they do little more than set relatively easily achieved targets, enabling minor changes to current procedures without challenging industry enough to require a reevaluation of fundamentally un- sustainable practices (Chappells and Shove, 2009; Steemers, 2003; Brown and Cole,2009). Recognising the built environment as a significant contributor to waste generation, and a potential area for large scale change, the authors are currently engaged in an Australian Research Council funded project titled “Reconsidering Sustainable Building and Design: A Cultural Change Approach.” The overall aim of the research is to develop a clear pathway to take building procurement teams (eg the client, architects, designers, planners, building contractors and facility managers) from present levels of knowledge and practice in the minimisation of resource usage and waste reduction towards international best practice and total waste elimination. The project involves ten partners from government and industry, as well as