Plaster is recyclable - infinitely often and in consistently high quality
Gypsum is recyclable. It can be used in the manufacture of new gypsum products as often as required and in the same high quality. Until recently, however, the majority of gypsum waste ended up in landfill. The amended Landfill Ordinance put a stop to this at the beginning of 2024. Since then, used gypsum must be processed and returned to the material cycle. With EASY ECO, Rigips has launched an initiative that makes sustainable construction even simpler and more transparent with economical and climate-friendly system solutions. An essential part of the initiative is the promise to all builders and users of Rigips gypsum and Rigidur gypsum fiberboards to take back the material after dismantling and then return it to the material cycle. All information on the wide range of recycling and recovery services offered by the dry construction specialist can be found on the corresponding service page www.easy-eco.org.
Sustainability, climate protection and the circular economy are terms that hardly anyone can avoid these days. The construction sector, which is one of the most resource-intensive industries, is particularly challenged. Gypsum, in particular, is an indispensable raw material for the construction industry, producing several million tons every year. Gypsum building materials can be found in almost every building. By processing gypsum residues and using recycled gypsum, valuable natural resources are conserved, landfill capacities are saved and, last but not least, environmental protection is actively supported.
Plasterboard - sustainable and recyclable
“Rigips boards are made from the natural raw material gypsum or FGD gypsum and cardboard,” explains Alexander Geißels, Sustainability Project Manager at Saint-Gobain. “Our boards stand for environmental compatibility, healthy building and also for high-quality, pure gypsum recycling. New, high-quality gypsum products can be made from gypsum again and again without any loss of quality. This creates a closed recycling loop from natural gypsum that has been mined once. This distinguishes gypsum from many other building materials. With the shutdown of coal-fired power plants as part of the energy transition, the demand for recycled gypsum will increase significantly in the future because less and less FGD gypsum - produced during industrial flue gas desulphurization - will be available. We therefore want to steadily increase the quantities of recycled gypsum within the scope of technical possibilities and exploit its potential as far as possible.”
EASY ECO: High-quality plaster recycling
With EASY ECO, Rigips has launched an initiative that aims to make construction as transparent and simple as possible for everyone involved in the building process. The wide range of services, which are as economical as they are climate-friendly, include the collection of construction site waste, which is first carefully processed and then returned to the production process. After being ordered online, the waste is collected within five to seven working days in special dry and sorted containers.
Taking back materials after dismantling
A key part of the initiative is the promise to take back materials after dismantling and then return them to the materials cycle. The manufacturer promises to take back all Rigips gypsum plasterboards and Rigidur gypsum fiberboards installed after the deadline of 1 July 2023. The construction project and the products used only need to be registered at www.easy-eco.org. The user - usually the planner or architect or the specialist contractor - will then receive a manufacturer‘s declaration of return for the digital or analog construction file.
