The technology-environment relationship revisited: Evidence from the impact of prefabrication on reducing construction waste

The impact of technology on the environment in the context of improving the economy is highly valued. However, the large-scale, industry-specific investigation of technology as a means of nurturing sustainability and cleaner production methods has remained in short supply. Based on nationwide data concerning 412 construction projects located in mainland China, this research addresses the various impacts of environment-related technologies by quantitatively assessing differences in construction waste discharge between production modes that use and those that do not use prefabrication. The results show that at the current level of technology utilization, the total waste generation rate of prefabricated building projects is 25.85% less than that of non prefabricated projects, while prefabrication can work effectively to reduce most types of construction waste (inorganic nonmetallic waste, organic waste, metallic waste, and composite waste), with the exception of hazardous waste. It is further found that the effectiveness of increasing prefabrication rates would be rather limited for waste reduction if the technological level remained unchanged. These findings are robust in the context of providing practical policy implications for China's promotion of prefabrication in the construction industry, and they serve as theoretical evidence for environmental improvement due to prefabrication adoption.