Proposals to help industry recycle more of the one million tonnes of waste plasterboard that is generated every year in the UK were today unveiled by the Waste Protocols Project - a joint Environment Agency and WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) initiative.

The draft Quality Protocol for gypsum from waste plasterboard sets out new end-of-waste criteria that will help stimulate market development and overcome barriers to gypsum’s reuse. This will enable industry to reprocess gypsum for various markets such as manufacturing of new plasterboard and cement, and for agricultural soil treatment.

Martin Brocklehurst, the Environment Agency’s Head of External Environment Protection Programmes, said: “With around one million tonnes of waste plasterboard generated by construction and demolition work in the UK annually there’s clearly scope to recycle more. The proposed Quality Protocol is a big step towards making that happen. Under the Protocol, gypsum would be recycled to an agreed standard and lose its waste tag - making it more marketable and inspiring confidence in the industry to utilise it.

“The draft Protocol is the result of extensive collaboration between key industry representatives, the Environment Agency and WRAP. Now comments from wider industry are being invited to help shape and inform the final document.”

Marcus Gover, WRAP’s Director of Market Development, said: “The amount of waste plasterboard sent to landfill has fallen dramatically in recent years as increasingly more gypsum is recycled. Two recycling routes are now established - through the plasterboard manufacturers and through specialist plasterboard recyclers. In 2007, for example, UK plasterboard manufacturers recycled almost 54,000 tonnes of waste plasterboard into new plasterboard through the voluntary Ashdown Agreement – a significant success for all involved, meaning tougher targets will be set in future.

“The draft Quality Protocol proposes that waste plasterboard must be produced to PAS109 for it to be fully recovered. PAS109 was recently published by WRAP and sets an industry agreed specification for the production of gypsum from waste plasterboard. We’ve worked closely with industry to develop this Quality Protocol and now we want to hear from anyone who has an interest in making better use of this key resource.”

You can take part in the Quality Protocol Consultation for the production and use of gypsum from waste plasterboard online at http://qp.dialoguebydesign.net The consultation will run for 12 weeks and close on Thursday, 22 January 2009.

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