Applicability of circular economy for the electronic waste minimization in Sri Lankan office buildings

Abstract

Electronic equipment is one of the world’s fastest-growing waste types. Office buildings can be identified as a major contributor to the electronic waste generation of any country, including Sri Lanka. Several electronic waste management strategies are utilised around the world, including landfilling and incineration, export, urban mining, 3R concept, extended producer responsibility, and circular economy. Among all, the circular economy is considered the best approach for minimising electronic waste in an office building. However, the circular economy concept is not widely used in Sri Lanka. Hence, this research aims to examine the applicability of the circular economy for electronic waste minimisation in Sri Lankan office buildings. To collect the required data, a comprehensive literature review was carried out initially, followed by a questionnaire survey and expert interviews. Manual content analysis was used to analyse the collected data. The findings revealed that the barriers to implementing the circular economy are high cost, lack of skilled labour, limited rules and regulation, limited rules and regulation on the circular economy, lack of continuous monitoring system when issuing the license, and lack of allocated resources for research on the circular economy. Further, conducting awareness-raising campaigns, using electronic equipment responsibly, and enacting electronic waste-related legislations were suggested for the better implementation of a circular economy in Sri Lankan office buildings.