Resource Management in Irrigation Projects of Sri Lanka Using Principles of Circular Economy

The construction industry consumes more than three billion tons of raw materials annually and is responsible for a significant percentage of waste that leads to pollution. Circular economic concepts have been introduced to solve these critical problems, such as resource scarcity and pollution. Different methods used under the circular economic concept allow the construction industry to rethink designs and make allowances for reducing the virgin material. It has been noted that many circular economic concepts are applied in Sri Lankan projects. However, none of these have been appropriately documented for future use. This research aims to identify the details of circular economic applications in the irrigation industry and develop case studies to help prospective design applications. A qualitative study was conducted with a semi-structured interview guide based on the 10R concept to gather data through in-depth interviews from three irrigation projects. The data gathering was terminated after interviewing Twelve (12) respondents once data saturation was reached. Data were analyzed by transcribing, coding, and categorizing to investigate the circular economic concepts connected to the cases. Data validation was achieved by using two focus groups and the researcher's observations where necessary. It was observed that Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Remanufacture, and Repurpose, out of the 10R concepts, were practiced in irrigation projects. The quantities of the application of each concept vary depending on the project's scope. According to the results, each case circulated 35 to 100% of tunnel mucking material and more than 50% of excavated soil. This resulted in a reduction in the use of virgin material usage. Apart from that, new R concepts such as Rescale and Responsibility were identified through the research. The irrigation industry could benefit by identifying resources that could be circulated at the inception level of a project to accommodate at the design level for the cost–benefit of both client and contractor and effective utilization of public funds on projects.