Materials Reuse Portal Case Study

Dsposal was awarded a contract with ReLondon to create a pioneering Materials Reuse Portal (MRP) leveraging agile methodology to aggregate surplus construction materials listings from an array of online materials exchange platforms. The MRP was designed to provide users with a comprehensive and streamlined view of available options, with a strong focus on promoting reuse and advancing the circular economy. The initial prototype was launched in London and select surrounding regions, with future expansion plans in the works.

Objectives of the Project

The primary objective was to develop a fully functioning Materials Reuse Portal (MRP) covering London which could be expanded or replicated in other cities. The MRP aims to increase use and awareness of construction material marketplaces that are already in place in the CIRCuIT cities, rather than setting up as a competitor platform.

A second objective was to generate insights and data about the types of items that are being exchanged or offered for sale within the city, as well as providing information about the types of materials being searched for on the platform to help evidence demand for reusable materials.

Thirdly the platform was to provide general advice and information on construction materials reuse.

Research

We worked on this project alongside Resource Futures, to inform the development of the MRP. We wanted to take a user centred approach when researching and developing the portal. Engaging with stakeholders and potential users early in the project allowed better research, grounded in people’s actual experiences, and built buy-in and support for the project. Both improved the chances of delivering a successful product.

There are a wide range of potential users for the MRP from individuals to commercial businesses, charities and government organisations, as well as the CIRCuIT partners and the existing exchange platforms.

We used a mixture of stakeholder workshops, usability testing sessions, one-on-one meetings and desk research to build our understanding of user needs and technical requirements. A full report on those workshops can be found here.

Technical and user discovery was completed by our CTO, Georgios Rovolis.  This included investigation into .NET 6, Examine Framework and Google Analytics 4 working closely with the ReLondon team.

Integrating with Existing Materials Exchange Platforms

The project aimed to aggregate listings from at least 2 existing platforms. Contact was made with four platforms that were known to operate in the London area. The technical set up of each platform was unknown at the start of the project (i.e. if they had APIs or other integration options available).

In communicating with the existing platforms we took care to make it clear that what we were building was not a competitor and that there was value to be gained for the platforms by integrating with the MRP.

Technical Build

The database architecture adheres to standard guidelines for managing a relational database system, specifically 4th normal form (4NF) normalization. This ensures efficient storage, analysis, and retrieval of data. However, due to varying data fields collected by different platforms, we conducted a data mapping exercise to align the categories used by the MRP with those of the providers. To increase efficiency in the development process, we utilized a UI Kit which enabled us to bypass the need for designing and building individual front-end components. This approach allowed us to save significant amounts of time and effort, as the kit offered a diverse array of pre-designed elements that could be quickly incorporated into the project.

Usability Testing was completed at several stages during the project by Becca Porter. Hotfixes were released by Georgios Rovolis.

Outcome

The completed Materials Reuse Portal went live in December 2022 and is successfully integrated with both Globechain and eBay.

Due to the various countries involved in the CIRCuIT project, the platform has been built with internationalisation in mind, meaning just a few tweaks would be needed to incorporate other countries’ data.

Collaborating with the ReLondon team has been a fantastic experience. We always enjoy partnering with clients who share our vision of promoting the circular economy and transforming the way we interact with our resources. If you have any interesting challenges or projects in this field and are interested in exploring how Dsposal can assist, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Feedback

“Dsposal provided a rare combination of strong technical knowhow, the flexibility to navigate complex challenges and -importantly for us- a passion for making a positive impact on the world. It was great to work with a team who can creatively solve problems while keeping project plans on track.”

- Graeme English ReLondon