Construction waste

A fundamental part of any urban city is development, especially infrastructural development. This can be through renovations, gentrification, the construction of new high rise building and urban sprawl.The development or construction comes from the need of the city to constantly reinvent it's self as the past meets the present and the present changes to the future.


For this post we set out to find any evidence of  waste being produced fro construction in an attempt to determine the source and what was the urban activity and/or processes occurring.

The Evidence

Show us the light...

While walking through the streets of Port-of-Spain we stumbled across these four bulbs lying in the drain. Renovations were being carried out on a small store in the building near the bulbs. No picture could be taken of the store as the doors were closed.

Do business men follow the Code?

All buildings that are to be renovated, should be approved by Town and Country Planning (TCPD). It is imperative that all buildings especially in urban areas should be up to code. Many businessmen, however, neglect this process. They build according to their own needs and desires which often causes disorganisation in the city and leaves no room for development by the state, hence the lack of dumpsters on the streets. Buildings are tightly packed and have no clear pattern, each with their own unique design and structure. Such happenings act as counter-measures to development and encourages improper waste disposal techniques. 

Construction was also observed being carried out on the Cathedral and the Red House. These types of construction have been approved as state projects and have met the necessary requirements of the city code. Galvanise fencing was put up as well as scaffolding to add safety measures. No dumpsters were found near the sites, however they were devoid of any debris. This organised construction rids the city of construction waste and helps to promote a cleaner environment. TCPD and other agencies should pay more attention to development and enforce laws that allow for lawful construction without violating safety, health and environmental regualtions.