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Gypsum recycling

 

How s'is the gypsum industry organized?

In 2016, the sector's manufacturers signed a commitment to green growth with the goal of recycling 250,000 tons of gypsum waste per year by 2020.The main collection channels for gypsum waste recycling are:

  • A network of 350 approved collectors set up by the sector's manufacturers. The flows are mainly collected directly on site.
  • 1,072 public waste collection centers are currently equipped with a skip dedicated to the collection of gypsum. This collection channel has resulted in the collection of nearly 110,000t of gypsum waste in 2020, of which approximately half was directed to recycling and half to disposal.

 

The collected gypsum waste is directed to a preparation workshop which carries out various operations: crushing of the gypsum boards, deferraillage, screening, to eliminate the paper, mechanical treatment to obtain a gypsum powder in accordance with its integration in the process.

Eight plants produce gypsum board in France, and a ninth is currently under construction for commissioning in 2023. Today, manufacturers can incorporate an average of 10 to 15% recycled gypsum in their manufacturing process, and up to 25% for certain products. In the future, these manufacturers will be able to incorporate larger tonnages.

 

How to Valobat intervene?

Valobat aims to multiply by 3 the quantities of recycled gypsum waste, in particular through :

  • A densification of the collection thanks to the network set up, to the development of new collection channels (in particular distributors), and to the integration in the Valobat system of the networks of approved collectors set up by the manufacturers.
  • The definition, with the industrialists and the professionals of the sector, of a standard of collection of the waste of plaster allowing to harmonize the conditions of acceptance and collection at the national level.
  • Supporting the industry in developing processes for better preparation of recycled gypsum and/or better integration of the latter into manufacturing processes.