Anyone planning a project incorporating recycled materials should be integrating the idea into the planning and design process as early as possible. Early review of the costs will enable considered choices to be made within the available budget. Housing professionals may need to be familiar with the reasons for using recycled materials, and any changes to the procurement process.

It is important to alert main vendors of development sites, or main contractors at a very early stage that demolition materials such as crushed concrete or hardcore may be used in the new development. Otherwise valuable sources of topsoil, site fill and base materials for roads and paths may be lost.

The design process will proceed more smoothly if architects and other designers have early notice of the requirement to specify recycled materials, as they may be unfamiliar with the concept. Standard specifications and employers' requirements are also likely to need adaptation.

Builders and their sub-contractors, whether involved in the design process or not, are likely to be unfamiliar with using recycled materials. Some contractors, such as Laing Homes at Langley Park, have organised special training sessions for sub-contractors making use of re-used materials to ensure that they have the necessary information.

The additional time required to source recycled materials needs to be built into project timetables. In some cases, for instance where re-used bricks or timber are employed, the labour content for particular tasks may be longer. Any additional costs clearly need to be taken account of in project costing.

Purchasing managers and sub-contractors may need to be briefed on how to source materials which differ from products normally purchased and which may not be available from usual sources.

For re-used materials one option is to identify a building which is about to be demolished, and from which materials can be stockpiled until required for the new development.

This was successfully done by Building Research Establishment (BRE) for its Building 16 office development, which was one of the first buildings in the UK to incorporate a high recycled content.