A thorough pre-demolition audit identified significant quantities of materials suitable for reuse within the 30 Duke Street demolition project in St James’s, London. Continuing our long-standing commitment to material reuse, John F Hunt salvaged 8 tonnes of structural steel and approximately 1,800 interior items during the demolition of two adjoining buildings.

The original 1960s building, a concrete 6-storey structure, contained 16 tonnes of steel beams, of which 8 tonnes were reused in the project’s temporary works. The remainder of the salvaged steel was transported to the steel stockholder, EMR, for reprocessing in further projects. The steel reuse saved approximately 12tCO2e when compared to using newly manufactured alternatives.

Wood, bricks, furniture, radiators, windows, glass partitions, decorations, storage tubs, electronics, textiles, aluminium, ceramics, paints, adhesives, and a boiler were donated to organisations such as Hackney City Farm, M01Youths, D.R.C.A. Community Association and other local organisations, artists, and community groups. The estimated financial savings from reusing these items in new projects were around £26,000.

Commit

John F Hunt signed the pledge, reinforcing our well-established commitment to the circular economy and environmental sustainability through our demolition and construction operations. These practices have been embedded across all our projects over several years, reducing the need for additional processing and helping preserve embodied value.

Plan

By developing more efficient technologies and monitoring recycling and waste minimisation, we maximise the reuse of as many materials as possible, followed by secondary material use, lessening the demand for primary resources. Innovation is essential for both growing our businesses and protecting our surroundings by creating sustainable solutions.

We consistently achieve a 99% diversion rate of non-hazardous waste from landfill, while actively developing new reuse pathways to keep resources in circulation for as long as possible. This will not stop.

The John F Hunt Group consists of 21 businesses, and in addition to the construction-related activities, our IT company also operate secondary-use channels. 

TechVertu erases data and secures damaged laptops and phones, delivering them to the ‘Every Child Online’ charity. Here, they refurbish and donate items to those who need them most, giving children and young people the opportunity to learn and connect. Those items that are beyond repair are disassembled, and the components made into jewellery or pieces of art.

Partner

We are committed to working collaboratively with our clients, stakeholders, and supply chain to ensure both first and secondary material use.

We will continue to build our outlet framework of reuse organisations, such as Saint Gobain (glass), EMR (steel), Envirocycle (carpet tiles) and Material Index (Internal Fixtures).

This will help feed through to schools, charities, artists, and community groups, such as Hackney City Farm and Studio Tip.

Act

We undertake extensive, in-depth pre-demolition and site audits on all our construction projects nationwide, collaborating closely with clients and stakeholders at the embryonic stages to identify every opportunity for reuse and recycling.

We shall monitor our Group-wide performance, improve, and share in the hope that we can influence others to drive long-term behaviour change within the industry.

Share

John F Hunt actively promotes and communicates circular initiatives across all our platforms to showcase their positive impact and drive industry-wide change.

Our Sustainability team will continue to speak at events such as Footprint+ and Futurebuild to show what is possible.

We will share all our practices with all those who will listen and implement.