Build Magazine December 2015

Build Magazine 53 Products and Innovation Due to the versatility of gypsum, the UK based recy- clers can recycle the majority of the waste produced from their treatment process, and sell the remaining excess elements to be used in areas other than construction. An independent plasterboard recycling sector has grown up to serve these markets and the UK leads in Europe in this activity. Even so, today not all the installed capacity is utilised which represents an opportunity to further grow the circular economy. What else can be done? Gypsum to Gypsum has identified three factors which will help improve gypsum recycling and further increase sustainability in the sector: deconstruction, sorting waste at source and strict regulation. Demolition v. Deconstruction When buildings are demolished, the gypsum in plasterboard gets contaminated with other materials that are very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to separate it from. So the industry should aim to replace demolition with deconstruction. Deconstruction is controlled and precise, so it allows workers to salvage the gypsum found within the internal partitions and then send it to recycling with minimal contamination.