Plasterboard Recycling Process
Plasterboard, also referred to as drywall, is a primary material used in the construction and demolition industries. Construction companies often discard old plasterboard and scraps as waste. Plasterboard recycling plants serve as an alternative to allowing plasterboard to fill up landfills. By turning plasterboard into gypsum powder during the recycling process, these companies put old plasterboard to good use. Does this Spark an idea?
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Collection
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You can't just toss plasterboard into any old recycling bin. Special recycling companies are responsible for collecting, transporting and recycling plasterboard. Some companies take the plasterboard scraps back to the facility to be recycled, but other companies send mobile plasterboard grinders to the construction site. On advantage to a mobile grinder is that it avoids the emissions generated by hauling the plasterboard back to the recycling plant.
Impurities
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The construction workers or recycling company must have a process in place for removing impurities, such as nails, screws and paint still on the plasterboard, as these materials cannot be recycled with the plasterboard. Some recycling companies only collect clean plasterboard scraps, so construction workers have to remove any impurities before tossing the materials into the recycling bins. Other recycling companies may offer a service where they extract the impurities after the scraps are collected.
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Process
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Plasterboard is ground down in the processing plant or mobile unit until the boards are transformed into gypsum powder. Gypsum powder is valuable for reuse in the construction and demolition industry. The recycling process also results in a small amount of shredded paper.
Post-Recycle Uses
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After the plasterboard is recycled and processed into new gypsum powder, the powder is used to manufacture new wallboard and potentially to manufacture concrete in the construction industry. It is also used in the agricultural industry as a soil conditioner, and the shredded paper backing is used as animal bedding.
Considerations
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Recycling old plasterboard scraps from demolition sites raises the concern of possible asbestos and lead contamination. Some states do not permit plasterboard to be recycled since it could result in a health hazard, according to the EPA.
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References
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