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Supporting local reuse initiatives makes great financial, environmental and social value sense

The Reuse Hub, a construction materials reuse facility, opened its doors at Dixon Street in Wolverhampton in July this year. The initiative is a collaboration between The Rebuild Site and ASAN Wood Saints.

The model of the Hub creates a win-win-win situation for people, planet and ‘purse’. Construction companies that divert -often brand new – materials for reuse are saving on skip costs, and can report reduced carbon emissions and delivery of social value; and DIYers, self-builders, gardeners or crafters that buy materials from the Hub are getting them at a reduced price; reused materials have much lower carbon emissions, and buying from the Hub supports the volunteer programme and skills workshops.

Following some kick-starter funding provided by the WMCA, the team are seeking potential private sector sponsors to support the ongoing work of the Reuse Hub and enable the initiative to grow into a long term sustainable, and replicable, operation that others can either set up from scratch or potentially could offer as part of an existing model.

The initiative has garnered huge support from regional and national organisations in the construction industry, and diverted materials have already been received from a number of contractors including BAM, Barhale, Story, McPhillips and Deeley Construction.

However for the Hub to operate successfully there has to be a focus on awareness raising not only within the industry end of the materials flow but also at the purchasing end – local communities and organisations need to understand what the Hub is about and why it is important. The Hub has an active FaceBook page and would like to work with more local organisations to help spread the word.

An example of projects they have supported are St Christopher primary school in Codsall which took a number of different donated items including sections of plastic piping and a cable reel for use in their forest school and creative play sessions, and Caldmore Community Garden which took some wood for their summer art project.

The Reuse Hub is open to the public and stocks a wide variety of construction related materials at discounted prices. Opening hours are Monday to Friday 9-4.30pm and Saturday 10-3pm, find them on Facebook at TheReuseHubWolverhampton.

If you are interested in sponsoring the Hub or can help to promote them within your network, please contact Debbie Ward on debbie.ward@rebuildsite.co.uk

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