Reuse of Plasterboard within Buildings

This contractor has taken part in a circular plasterboard case study in partnership with Loughborough University, ENVA and British Gypsum. The initiative is all part of an EU Horizon 2020 project, ICEBERG, which aims to improve the economic viability and market potential of end-of-life building materials.

This provides designers, manufacturers, builders, and recyclers with advanced smart and technological civil engineering solutions leading to more efficient, competitive processes, higher traceability, market acceptance, and higher levels of material circularity.

By recycling the gypsum it allows for a new plasterboard to be created and used within buildings throughout.

Although gypsum can be recycled indefinitely, the amount of recycled gypsum from refurbishment and demolition plasterboard waste that can be incorporated into new plasterboards is limited. The presence of impurities introduced by additives, lining paper and paint limits the amount that can be recycled.

Through the ICEBERG project, a novel purification treatment based on acid leaching has been developed by Loughborough University in collaboration with ENVA. This allows for an increase in the recycled content of new plasterboards from the current 10%, which uses only recycled gypsum from ‘clean’ construction plasterboard offcuts, to 35%, using the ICEBERG purified gypsum.

To find out more, click the link below.