Analysis of barriers towards implementing circular economy in Sri Lankan built environment

Abstract

All over the world, environmental pollution has become a major environmental issue at present. As the construction industry extracts a high amount of natural resources compared to any other industry, it can be known as one of the significant causes of environmental pollution. In order to protect the environment from harmful human activities, there is a massive demand towards sustainable construction practices. Circular Economy (CE) concept has been identified as a way forward to sustainable construction practices. It has been identified that implementing CE in the construction industry has many barriers, enablers and drivers. Hence, this study aims to qualitatively analyse the relevance of the barriers identified through a literature survey in the global context towards circular economy implementation of the Sri Lankan context. Semi-structured interviews were carried out among industry experts and academics who have experience and knowledge of the CE concept. The findings of this study indicate that the practical implementation of CE in Sri Lankan built environment has many barriers as it is still in an early stage. This study concludes that the construction industry stakeholders should be aware of these concepts, and primarily the authorities should focus more on this concept to move forward with a sustainable construction industry and protect the environment.