The construction industry has long functioned on the basis that waste is an inevitable byproduct of doing business.

With up to 30 percent of all materials delivered to construction sites ultimately ending up in landfill, there is an incredible opportunity to not only to recycle more construction waste, but to repurpose perfectly good materials to address socioeconomic inequalities.

Today, we are joined by Kausar Khan, Carin de Beer, and Jaco Kemp from Arup in South Africa, who are working to do just that.

Their DigiYard project is an app-based service connecting unused construction site materials and waste with small-scale builders and traders in the informal sector, aiming to match supply and demand through embedding circular economy practices within the construction sector and provide access to affordable, quality material to low-income communities.

In this episode, we discuss the challenges they face and the lessons they have learned as they pilot this project.

We touch on how they have used Whatsapp in the pilot phase, their personal motivations for the project, and the scale of the construction waste problem in South Africa, as well as the financial and social responsibility incentives that DigiYard offers companies in various sectors, including the film industry.

For all this and so much more, tune in today!