It is being ‘repurposed’ at a new ‘circular economy’ hub opened at the old Minerva Works warehouse complex in Park Royal, which has been transformed into a workspace for small enterprises recycling waste materials.
The materials also include timber from old studio film sets and waste from building sites, as well as the soil from the HS2 construction at nearby Old Oak Common.
The not-for-profit ‘Rescued Clay’ collective is using the HS2 soil to make lasting products while helping to find a use for the empty warehouse complex.
Even discarded tyres, straw and leftover printing inks are finding their way into Minerva Works for a new lease of life.
The empty warehouse was taken over by the London Development Corporation last year for a new district heating project.
But that won’t be started for another year, so meanwhile a temporary use has been found as a ‘circular economy’ hub that opened earlier this month.
“Manufacturers and businesses all have waste materials that can be re-used,” the development corporation’s chief executive David Lunts explained.
“The new ‘circular economy’ hub shows what can be done with buildings that otherwise would have been left vacant by using them to reduce London’s waste.”
The hub is salvaging 20 tonnes of materials that otherwise would have been wasted and is preventing 28 tonnes of carbon entering the atmosphere. Repurposed materials are being used for local projects to get the ‘circular economy’ off the ground.
The empty warehouse in Minerva Road was acquired in April last year for a district heating network using waste heat generated by data centres. But the site isn’t needed until spring next year so it’s being ‘repurposed’ for the time being, as part of a wider push for sustainability to help London’s creative industries.
A ‘sustainability charter’ has also been drawn up to guide development in Old Oak and Park Royal for ‘net zero’ carbon for ‘new age’ industry with nature-based improvements near Wembley along the Grand Union Canal.
