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Gypsum Recovery Reuse for Construction
13 August 2019
John Herbert
Director
Gypsum board more commonly known as plasterboard or drywall is a very
common construction product, it is used practically in every project,
yet tonnes of this valuable mineral are needlessly dumped into landfill
every year, and that is a problem.
Landfill disposal is not an easy option, it can be problematic,
due to the release of toxic compounds, some jurisdictions in
North America have already banned gypsum/plasterboard from landfill
sites.
Waste plasterboard / gypsum board destined for Hong Kong landfill
Instead, gypsum can be recovered, and used to make new plasterboard,
The process for re-use is hardly difficult, if the material can be
effectively separated from general construction waste, it can be
recycled, processed and mixed to form the raw material used to
make new plasterboard, or other new products.
It is environmentally effective to recover used materials
locally than to pay for excavating, mining, and shipping
virgin ore.
Gypsum Recycling credit: mrw.co.uk
Used plasterboard can also be repurposed and used as
fertilizer, ask a farmer, it is a soil conditioner, providing
soluble form of calcium and sulphur for improving the
condition of the soil.
Gypsum is also a byproduct of boiler flue gas cleaning
process, in Europe, a drywall company set up its factory
close to the power station to use the byproduct as its
raw material. Gypsum sourced from flue gas cleaning
is clean, and doesnt risk the typical "contamination" nails,
paint, etc. resulting from typical demolition projects.
Policy
If the buyer (contractor) is free to purchase any type of
plasterboard in the market, with few exceptions cost is the
primary metric, particularly when other metrics such as
environmental benefits, and recycling content are less
than clear.
To clarify for the consumer the benefits of using recycled
materials, in the absence of regulations, creating a cost
difference between virgin and recycled gypsum board is the
fastest path to adoption.
When the HKSAR Government introduced a small charge to buy
a supermarket plastic shopping bag the entire sector changed
within weeks, smart shoppers opted to bring a shopping bag, and
the use of single plastic shopping bags dropped dramatically
indicating that consumers are very cost sensitive, so it is
a powerful tool for promoting more sustainable practices.
SDC and BEAMPLUS consultant for your project, call our
John Herbert in our Hong Kong office today +852 2335 9830
About the Author
John Herbert is a
veteran chief engineer with more than 30 years international engineering experience, educated in
the United Kingdom, he worked in the UK and then across Asia for more than two decades
engaged by international and local companies. He is a Hong Kong Registered Energy
Assessor (REA) and BEAM Professional, and is stationed in Hong Kong.