Edinburgh’s Circular Economy Hub for the Construction Sector

Plan A: Materials Warehouse is a platform for the promotion and development of the circular economy in Edinburgh and Scotland, elevating the perceived value of existing materials and reducing the use of new products.

In doing so we will elevate the value of human labour and craft, our existing built environment, and reduce the harm done to the environment by new construction.

What we do

Plan A is a network of circular economy operators working together to build the circular economy for the construction sector in Edinburgh. We aim to come together under one roof to share our strengths. We run pilot exercises using our Reuse Rover. We collate data about our activity, our opportunities and constraints and pass it to others. We educate each other about the circular economy.

Our services

So how does it work?

Re-use of materials needs several links in a chain to all work together. Plan A is here to support them all:

Materials arise from existing buildings undergoing refurbishment or demolition. This needs careful deconstruction as part of the project. This allows opportunities for direct re-use, re-manufacture or refurbishment.

Materials are identified, then refurbished or re-manufactured so they are useful in a new use. This needs re-manufacturers. To help them find a new life they might need testing, certification, and new data sheets to be prepared.

Specifiers are needed who understand the re-used materials and include them in the next project. They use the data sheets and certification from the re-manufacturers.

Re-installation contractors put the re-used materials back into use in a new building.

Artists and craftspeople are needed for those materials which can't be used in buildings, but can be used as other things.

Learn more