Application of Circular Economic Concepts at Construction Waste Management (Cowam) Project, Dadalla, Sri Lanka

The construction industry is facing a crisis due to the scarcity of natural resources. Concurrently, the environmental pollution resulting from construction and demolition waste is becoming a burden to the industry and ecosystem function. Linear economic (LE) practices in which the products are discarded at the end of the effective life cycle are responsible for both these problems. Circular economic concepts have become a practical solution to these problems as they give answers to both material scarcity and environmental pollution. In addition, construction waste management after a disaster has become a significant problem for cities. The Construction Waste Management Centre (COWAM) at Dadalla was constructed as a solution to the issues in the management of construction waste after a tsunami hit Sri Lanka in 2004 and is currently being used as a management centre for construction and demolition waste. This case study research was carried out to investigate the present status of the COWAM Centre in relation to circular economic applications. A qualitative study was conducted with ten in-depth interviews using an interview guide based on the 10R circular economy framework. Respondents were chosen using the intensity sampling method, allowing the researcher to select a small number of rich cases that provide in-depth information about the subject of interest. Data was analyzed by transcribing, coding and categorizing to create a circular economic model. Finally, indicators for construction and demolition waste management were identified, and a circular economic model for the COWAM center was created. The COWAM centre could improve further for resource optimization. The scalable and replicable nature of the developed model will allow it to be used in any other city for sustainable development in the built environment.