For many families living in informal settlements, building a home means working with whatever materials they can find. Plastic sheets, scraps of wood and metal become walls and roofs. Fragile structures that struggle to withstand rain, wind and cold.
In South Africa, more than two million households live in informal dwellings, often without basic services or durable shelter. These homes are vulnerable to weather extremes and offer little long-term security for families trying to build a better life.
Leading construction material supplier, AfriSam, recognised that billboard vinyl, widely used as insulation and waterproofing in informal housing, was being actively protected from removal through hostile measures at sites near informal settlements.
Purpose into action
Where others saw this as problem, the company saw an opportunity to put its purpose into action.
The brand redirected its out of home media budget to these unwanted billboard sites, not to advertise, but to distribute. Street-facing billboards carried a simple call to action, encouraging people to take the vinyl to help reinforce their homes.
As the vinyl was removed, it was replaced, transforming advertising infrastructure into an ongoing source of building material.
“This is about using what already exists to help where it’s needed most,” said Stephanie Hunter, creative director at Promise, advertising partner to AfriSam. “Instead of ending up as waste, these materials are now helping families reinforce their homes. It shows how small changes in how we use resources can have real impact.”
Turning advertising waste into building materials
Rather than introducing something new, the initiative rethinks what already exists. Advertising infrastructure becomes a distribution network. Waste becomes a building resource. Business assets are redirected to meet real human needs.
But it doesn’t stop there.
In 2026, the initiative expanded, with AfriSam following up with a donation of 1 000 bags of cement to support the move from temporary structures to more permanent homes.
Recognising that one company alone cannot meet the scale of the challenge, the initiative has evolved into a broader call to action, inviting brands and media owners to donate their surplus billboard vinyl rather than sending it to landfill.
The goal is simple: turn advertising waste into building materials, while encouraging the industry to rethink how it supports the communities it operates in.
It’s initiatives like these that serve as a reminder that progress doesn’t always come from grand gestures. Sometimes it comes from small, thoughtful changes, and from seeing everyday resources not as disposable, but as opportunities to support the communities we share.
