Executive Summary
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GtoG Project From production to recycling: a circular economy for the European gypsum Industry with the demolition and recycling Industry LIFE PROGRAMME LIFE11 ENV/BE/001039 DA1-Inventory of Current Practices EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SEPTEMBER 2013 DA1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GtoG Project Introduction Gypsum – an exceptional construction The problem material In the 8 EU target countries (Belgium, France, Gypsum is a rock-like mineral used in Germany, Greece, Poland, Spain, the construction in different applications such as Netherlands and the UK), it is estimated that plasterboard, building plaster and gypsum blocks, around 1,150,000 tonnes of plasterboard waste among others. were generated in 2012. In most of the European countries where it is produced a low recycling rate The GtoG project focuses on lightweight of this gypsum waste is observed. gypsum components also known as plasterboard products that mainly consist of The aim of the GtoG project is to obtain up to gypsum whose surface and longitudinal edges 30% of reincorporation of the recycled gypsum, are covered with paper and used for partitions from both production and Construction and and the lining of walls, ceilings, roofs and floors. Demolition (C&D) waste, into the plasterboard Other generic terms used for this product are: manufacturing process. gypsum board, drywall and wallboard. Main types of gypsum In Europe the first plasterboard plant was built in Until mid-1980s most of the gypsum used in the Liverpool in 1917. European Union was natural gypsum extracted from quarries. Since then, FGD gypsum (a by- product from the Electricity Industry) became an important supply for the Gypsum Industry. This raw material is also known as synthetic gypsum and it is largely used in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Nordic Countries. The origin of the main types of gypsum is summarized in Table 1. RESOURCE ORIGIN Figure 1. Plasterboard product used for partitions. Source: Technical Manual Plasterboard systems, Knauf 2012. Natural gypsum Formed geologically FGD gypsum By product from the desulphurisation of gases in The main properties of gypsum products are: coal-fired power stations. Fire protective. Recycled From the processing of A good thermal insulator when combined gypsum gypsum waste in accordance with determined with insulation materials. specifications. Sound regulator. Impact resistant Table 1. Origin of the main types of gypsum. 2 DA1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GtoG Project Reasons for recycling plasterboard products other that those containing dangerous substances. 1. Gypsum is fully and eternally recyclable. Gypsum products can be 4. If gypsum waste products are accepted at recycled because their chemical normal cells in non-hazardous landfills, its composition remains unchanged. sulphate would break down, amongst other substances into Hydrogen 2. Article 4 of the Directive 2008/98/EC on Sulphide (H2S), a hazardous flammable Waste (also known as the Waste gas with environmental and health Framework Directive, hereinafter WFD) effects when inhaled, that even in very drafts the waste hierarchy that should be small concentrations creates odour applied as a priority in all the EU Member problems. Council Decision 2003/33/EC States. established that “Non-hazardous gypsum- Waste prevention leads this hierarchy, based material should be disposed of only followed by preparing for re-use and in landfills for non-hazardous waste in cells where no biodegradable waste is material recycling that should always be accepted. The limit values for TOC and preferred to recovery and landfill disposal. DOC given in section 2.3.2 and 2.3.1 shall apply to wastes landfilled together with gypsum based materials”. 5. By recycling plasterboard waste, primary mineral resource depletion is avoided and landscape is preserved. Figure 2. Waste hierarchy scheme according to the Article 4 of the Directive 2008/98/EC on Waste. 3. Article 11 of the WFD establishes that, by 2020, the preparing for re-use, Figure 3.Gypsum quarry. Source: Geoprah.ie recycling and other material recovery of most of the categories defined in the European List of Waste (ELW) shall be Types of plasterboard waste increased to a minimum of 70% by Two main types of plasterboard waste can be weight. This target applies to non- defined according to its source: hazardous Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste (where gypsum waste is Production waste: arises from the included) and excluding soil and stones plasterboard manufacturing process 3 DA1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GtoG Project (rejection) and recycling of this material is quality criteria during the pilot projects where the part of the waste avoidance policy of the recycling process and reincorporation of the companies. An example is the out-of- recycled gypsum into the manufacturing process specification boards. will be carried out. Construction and Demolition (C&D) plasterboard waste: comes from the The End of Waste criteria installation or removal of plasterboard. It includes damaged boards and off cuts from End-of-waste criteria specify when certain waste its installation in construction works, and ceases to be waste and obtain a product status or stripped-out plasterboard in demolition works. become a secondary raw material. The GtoG project covers the recycling of both According to Article 6 of the WFD, specified types of plasterboard waste for its reincorporation wastes shall cease to be waste when it has as recycled gypsum into the manufacturing undergone a recovery (including recycling) process. operation and complies with specific criteria to be developed in line with certain legal conditions. In particular: The recycling process (also known as reprocessing or processing) of plasterboard The substance or object is commonly used waste for specific purposes; Several mechanical processing steps, such as There is an existing market or demand for the grinding and sieving, are carried out in recycling substance or object; facilities before the final recycled gypsum is The use is lawful (substance or object fulfils obtained. the technical requirements for the specific The main output stream from the recycling purposes and meets the existing legislation process is the recycled gypsum (around 92% by and standards applicable to products); weight of the total output), followed by paper The use will not lead to overall adverse waste (8%) and metal (less than 1%). environmental or human health impacts. The End of Waste status for gypsum based waste The recycled gypsum is only a reality in the UK, enabling recycled gypsum to be classified as a raw material. Under the GtoG project, the term “recycled gypsum” is used to refer to gypsum resulting from The opportunity to ask for the end-of-waste status the controlled processing of plasterboard waste at EU or national level as per article 6 of the WFD where the gypsum is separated from the paper will be decided at the end of the GtoG project. and any contaminant that could be present. It is usually found in the form of a fine or sandy Open and closed loop recycling of powder, or a small aggregate-type material. plasterboard products Today, different national and commercial In open loop recycling, the recycled specifications for producing quality recycled gypsum is used as a material in products gypsum are followed. One of the aims of the and applications other than the GtoG project is to examine and re-assess the 4 DA1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GtoG Project manufacture of new plasterboard, for thereby increasing the potential for their example cement manufacture or for future recycling. agricultural benefit. It results in different waste fractions with Closed loop recycling means using the minimal damage, due to the time and care recycled gypsum as a secondary raw taken for separating the waste, in order to material in making new plasterboard achieve the minimal negative effect of its products. generation. Plasterboard is one of the very few The reprocessing of the recyclable construction materials where closed loop plasterboard waste. recycling is possible. Once plasterboard waste from The GtoG project focuses on construction and demolition waste is promoting closed loop recycling separated on site it is usually collected by practices for plasterboard. a third party and transported to a gypsum recycler (also named re-processor and By choosing closed loop recycling, saving of supplier) that reprocesses it. natural gypsum resources is achieved. The reincorporation of the recycled gypsum in the manufacturing process. What does closed loop recycling involve? It involves a close collaboration among all the stakeholders throughout the entire value chain: from the dismantling and collection of plasterboard waste in buildings, via the recycling of this waste and culminating with the reincorporation of the recycled gypsum by the plasterboard manufacturing plants, in order to create a highly efficient reverse logistics. It will also require the correct implementation of the EU regulation as well as its enforcement. The GtoG project will serve to boost the closed loop recycling route whenever possible. Figure 4. Scheme of the efficient value chain assessed under the GtoG project. Description of an efficient value chain for closing the loop of the plasterboard products Deconstruction: dismantling of plasterboard on the demolition site. Deconstruction enables the quantity and quality optimization of valuable materials, 5 DA1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GtoG Project Target stakeholders covering the whole value environmental analysis with the collected chain information.