Investigating circular economy barriers for construction and demolition waste in the construction industry: a Delphi and interpretive structural modelling approach

Purpose This study examines the barriers to circular economy (CE) implementation for construction and demolition (C&D) waste management. This study aims to enhance the understanding of CE barriers and their interrelationships, facilitating targeted, context-specific interventions for sustainable waste management in developing economies. Design/methodology/approach A pluralistic method was adopted, including a critical review of literature, a two-round Delphi survey using 22 and 17 experts and interpretive structural modelling (ISM) with nine experts in the Nigerian setting. Expert consensus on key barriers was established in the Delphi second round. Mean score ranking and interrater analysis were used to analyse Delphi responses, while ISM-based analysis and Matrice d’Impacts croises-multipication applique a classement analysis were used to explore contextual relationships between the barriers. Findings The analysis revealed the significance of all examined barriers. The most crucial barriers include the pursuit of short-term profitability, insufficient construction waste data, lack of understanding and scarce funding. Equally, regulatory and supply chain followed by economic barriers, emerged as the most significant categories. ISM introduced a hierarchical model for the barriers, further classifying them into dependent, linkage and independent categories. Understanding these interactions provides a basis for prioritising interventions. Originality/value This research presents a novel, structured analysis of the complex barriers to CE implementation in C&D waste management within the construction industry, particularly in developing economies. The findings offer practical insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders to address these barriers in order of influence and criticality, thereby advancing sustainability and circularity in the construction sector.