How to recycle an old newspaper building

For more than 50 years it was home to London's daily newspaper. Now the London Free Press building on York Street is coming down quickly, a testament to a fast-changing media age. 

Crews with York1 Demolition were busy pulling apart the brick and steel structure this week. Twisted steel girders and concrete chunks lie in piles all around, but as operations manager Jeremy Later explains, it's all part of a tightly co-ordinated operation, one designed to ensure most of the rubble from the 80,000 square-foot building isn't wasted. 

"There is a lot of value in scrap, but you have to know how to deal with it," he said. "We separate it all on site and find the best home for it. We'll hit about a 95 per cent recycle rate on this site." 

On Wednesday CBC News was allowed on the site at 369 York St. for a special look at the demolition work.

WATCH | On the construction site where crews are salvaging and sorting

How the former Free Press building is being recycled

10 months ago

Duration 1:31

A piece of London's history is being demolished but almost all of it is being salvaged. See the work that's being done to recycle the former London Free Press building with York1 Demolition's Jeremy Later.

Excavators equipped with cutters that resemble a crab's claw were slicing through the steel girders and plucking them out of the building. The steel, like everything on the site, will be sorted on site and sold for scrap. 

There are piles for plumbing, brick and electrical conduit, with each material destined for a specific recycler. 

Later said even the concrete — some of it in beach-ball sized chunks — will not go to waste. Once the building is down, a crusher will be brought in to turn it into gravel, which will be used to fill the void created by the building's basement space. 

"It will be used for gravel and will eliminate trucking a lot of new material to the site," he said. "Everything costs more money nowadays and if you can reuse something you have on site, it's that much better." 

For now the building's south side is completely ripped open. The north side facing York Street remains intact but will also soon come down. Later said that part of the demolition will require some lane closures on York Street to keep pedestrians and traffic a safe distance away. 

Some visitors get a souvenir 

While the tear-down takes place, Later said there's a lot of interest from passersby. Many come to the perimeter fence to share fond memories of visiting or working in the Free Press office and presses, which were built in 1965. Some even ask for a souvenir. 

"A lot of individuals come up and say they've worked here and ask for a brick, and we're more than happy to give them one," he said. "It brings back good memories." 

To anyone who's ever watched a wrecking ball knock down a brick wall, demolition work can be appealing. Later admits it can also be fun. 

"I enjoy it every day," he said. "The guys get new excavators every couple of years. It's like a new toy."

In an email to CBC News, Shmuel Farhi of Farhi Holdings Corp. said the company is in the process of completing a development application for 1,352 units at 369 York St.  

"As with any application, we have to go through the municipal planning process," he said. 

Farhi purchased the building from Postmedia in 2017. Farhi announced plans to turn the site into a tech hub in 2018, but that never happened. London Free Press moved their offices to a Dundas Street location in 2018.

The demolition started in January and Later expects it will continue for about another month, followed by a few more weeks of concrete crushing and final site work. 

"Then we'll be on flat ground for the Farhi group to do what's next," he said.