Build Magazine December 2015

Build Magazine 55 Products and Innovation Of course, common sense dictates that this method would be far more time consuming and costly than simply demolishing the building, but this is not the case; by deconstructing and removing all the plasterboard, demolition contractors can make significant savings - approximately £500 for each skip of plasterboard sent to recycling instead of landfill according to Plasterboard Sustainability Partnership. Deconstruction also opens up the opportunity to recycle other materials, not just gypsum, offsetting the increased labour costs which come as a result of the new approach. Although deconstruction reduces contamination, more can be done to reduce it further and maxim- ise profits… Sorting waste If waste is sorted at site rather than at recycling plants, the risk of contamination is significantly decreased even further. Many recycling plants can’t accept gypsum with even moderate contam- ination levels; items such as nails, screws, wood and insulation can be too much for some recycling plant machinery to separate. It’s already an EU and UK legal requirement to sort waste at source, but Gypsum to Gypsum has gone one step further; one of its major achievements is it defined the waste acceptance criteria, creating a appropriately high standard for materials sent to recycling. But recycled gypsum will still vary in quality, so ensuring that material is suitable for recycling is only half the story… The Rules Recyclers have to ensure that the recycled gypsum meets quality criteria for re-incorporation into new product. This is another area where Gypsum to Gypsum has been active, producing a draft specification for a quality standard that all recycled gypsum needs to achieve. The standard is designed to reduce the amount of material which is unable to be used to create new recycled gypsum products, increasing efficiency and promoting the overall aim of an entirely circular model. Pie in the sky? Gypsum to Gypsum is offering a solution to the environmentally harmful landfill issue as well as promising the gypsum industry a more economically beneficial alternative, so many may wonder why the industry isn’t jumping through hoops to make it happen. The short answer is, they are. Increasing numbers of gypsum producers are committing to the circular model and in the UK the gypsum recycling market is growing; the amount of gypsum sent to recycling has increased and the output of recycling plants has improved. More and more of the UK gypsum’s needs are met every year using recycled gypsum. In 2007 the UK gypsum product manu- facturers joined the Ashdown Agreement with the intention of reducing the amount of gypsum waste sent to landfill, and after a successful few years the agreement was extended until 2015. In the first three years the amount of manufacturing waste sent to landfill significantly decreased from 6,121 tonnes in 2007/08 to just 504 tonnes in 2010. Since then it has been reduced to zero and sustained at that level for several years, an indication of the progress the industry is making. But it takes more than just gypsum businesses’ commitment, progress demands the involvement of the entire construction industry. So far, the UK construction industry has responded reasonably well to the drive for a sustainable economy, and it’s refreshing to see significantly more gypsum going to recycling. As recycling and deconstruction methods evolve, gypsum recycling is only expected to increase. With many manufacturers achieving responsible sourcing certifi- cation for individual products, the signs are promising that eventually a circular economy can be achieved. Gypsum to Gypsum has been busy monitoring projects to identify the factors holding back gypsum recycling levels and many gypsum manufacturers are taking its research on board. All that’s needed now is the complete cooperation of the entire construction and deconstruction supply chain. Gypsum to Gypsum represents the future of resource efficiency within the construction industry. With a change in mentality from demolition to deconstruction and recovery of recyclable materials, particularly gypsum, construction companies can make the first steps towards a circular economy and limit the affects of a looming natural resources shortage. Gypsum to Gypsum is pioneering the new approach to resource management that is going to be needed within the built environment in the 21st century - but is the construction industry prepared to take the next step?