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Construction waste is generated throughout the construction process such as during site clearance, material use, material damage, material non-use, excess procurement and human error. The exact quantity and composition of construction waste generated throughout the projects are difficult to be identified as they are keep on changing due to the dynamic nature of the construction activities. Different stages of construction generates different types and composition of waste. Therefore the trend of waste generated throughout the construction stages need to be identified. This paper will critically review literature on construction waste in order to understand the nature of waste generation from construction activities. Based on the literature studied, this paper propose a method to quantify waste for conventional construction. The proposed method comprises four steps. First is identification of construction stages and expected waste generated. Second is selection of construction sites with similar characteristics for uniform investigation. Third is sorting and weighing of mixed waste collected in a dumpster. The last step is summation of the recorded quantity. It is expected that the proposed method should be practical and suits current situation of Malaysian construction projects and support the agenda of National Strategic Plan for Solid Waste Management.