Bridging the gap: enabling a secondary material market for construction and demolition waste

Abstract

Reintroducing construction and demolition waste (C&DW) to the construction supply chains in the form of secondary materials (SMs) has been in the global limelight over the past decades. However, the underdevelopment/non-existence of SM markets in developing countries stands as a significant barrier. Thus, this study aims to facilitate the widespread reuse of C&DW by reinforcing the SM market in Sri Lanka. The aim was accomplished by conducting an explanatory sequential mixed method research following the survey strategy. Initially, a quantitative questionnaire survey was conducted with 92 respondents, followed by a qualitative survey in the form of semi-structured interviews with 13 experts. Data were analysed through descriptive statistics and content analysis, respectively. Findings revealed that in Sri Lanka, C&DW are directed to landfills on 75% of the occasions, and only 14.47% are directed for reprocessing. Concrete, steel, and timber are the most used C&DW types as SMs. In Sri Lanka, using SMs is limited to post-disaster reconstruction, green buildings, and a few signature projects due to the absence of an established SM market. Therefore, it is crucial to overcome the limited scope and application of SMs and ensure widespread adoption across the CI by establishing a SM market characterised by a web-based digital database. Accordingly, this research contributes the realm of C&DW management, both practically and theoretically by scrutinising the role of the SM market in realising the closed loop and substantiating the ability of the SM market to bridge the gap.