Circular economy as a solution for construction demolition waste management in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Construction industry Demolition Waste (DW) has become a worldwide problem. Unsuitable DW disposal methods, leads to various issues such as scarcity of land resources and pollution, ecological damages, and land depletion. Even though various waste management approaches are applied, the construction industry DW has been increasing day by day. Hence this paper focuses on investigating the currently used DW management concepts and the conditions that need to be present to implement CE concepts for DW management in Sri Lanka. This research aim was addressed using a literature review followed by in-depth semi-structured interviews with 13 experts using the qualitative research approach. Collected data were analysed using code-based content analysis. Findings revealed that disposing of DW is the main concept used in the construction industry in Sri Lanka for most of the materials. Moreover, it was found that three conditions should be satisfied to implement CE concept for DW management in the local context. These are having proper facilities for material separation, good quality of materials, and proper coordination between industries. Construction industry stakeholders can use the research findings in developing suggestions for satisfying the conditions to apply the CE approach and minimize the DW in Sri Lanka.