Implementing a waste plasterboard collection scheme at Islington Council HWRC

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1 Plasterboard case study Implementing a waste plasterboard collection scheme at Islington Council HWRC A number of local authorities have introduced waste plasterboard collection at their Household Waste Recycling Centres. This case study describes how Islington Council and London Waste Ltd are working in partnership with Gypsum Recycling UK Ltd to increase the quantity of plasterboard being diverted from landfill for recycling.

2 Implementing a waste plasterboard collection scheme at Islington Council HWRC 2 About WRAP 'WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) helps individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change. 'Established as a not-for-profit company in 2000, WRAP is backed by government funding from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. WRAP and plasterboard Through its Construction Programme, WRAP is helping the construction industry cut costs and increase efficiency through the better use of materials. WRAP has received funding from Defra through the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) programme to divert plasterboard waste from landfill by working to overcome the barriers to plasterboard recycling. Additional funding is also received from the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. WRAP is developing a number of initiatives which are supporting the segregation, collection and recycling of waste plasterboard, and the development of end-market uses for the resulting recycled gypsum. More information on WRAP s work can be found on Acknowledgement

3 Implementing a waste plasterboard collection scheme at Islington Council HWRC 3 Background WRAP has supported trials to evaluate the practicalities of collecting plasterboard waste at Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) to demonstrate how the collected waste can be passed down the recycling chain, thereby reducing the waste being sent to landfill. Islington Council expressed an interest in introducing a waste plasterboard collection scheme at their HWRC, and WRAP provided support for the introduction of collection arrangements for waste plasterboard. Gypsum Recycling UK (GRUK) Ltd 1 was an appropriate recycler which could collect plasterboard from Islington, since the company operates plasterboard collections from the London area. Collections commenced in January The data recorded in this case study is over a period of seven weeks, with the plasterboard scheme continuing to operate after this. Islington Council operate a busy HWRC at Hornsey Street, Islington. Site operations are managed by London Waste Ltd, who also operates HWRCs for seven other London authorities. In 2007 Islington Council undertook a HWRC customer survey which indicated that a significant number of residents would like to see facilities to recycle waste plasterboard generated from their DIY activities. Islington Council s HWRC is licensed to accept household waste only. Prior to introducing the scheme, waste plasterboard was collected with the residual waste for disposal. The site collects approximately 7,000 tonnes of waste per year from local 1 GRUK Ltd is part of the larger international group, Gypsum Recycling International, which was the first company in Europe to have implemented a complete and commercially viable system for recycling of all kinds of gypsum and plasterboard waste. GRUK accept material from the construction and manufacturing sectors, and increasingly local authorities.

4 Implementing a waste plasterboard collection scheme at Islington Council HWRC 4 residents. Islington were unaware of the contribution of plasterboard to total waste arisings each year, and therefore were keen to introduce the scheme to help understand the potential benefits of diverting waste plasterboard.

5 Implementing a waste plasterboard collection scheme at Islington Council HWRC 5 The approach Activities undertaken to develop the trial Information supplied by GRUK to London Waste Ltd included: copies of the company s Site Working Plan; copies of company s employers and public liability insurance; a risk assessment and method statement for loading the containers with plasterboard materials; a statement regarding the final destination(s) and uses of the recycled plasterboard materials; and a list of acceptable materials for collection and segregation. To communicate the availability of the new scheme to site users, plasterboard signage was purchased by Islington Council at a cost of approximately 100 (ex VAT). HWRC staff operatives were briefed to ensure contaminants including rubble, wood and ceramic tiles were disposed of separately. Plasterboard Good Practice Guidance documents were also provided to improve understanding of plasterboard quality requirements. Good practice guidance for collection of plasterboard at HWRCs

6 Implementing a waste plasterboard collection scheme at Islington Council HWRC 6 Plasterboard segregation and collection on site GRUK offered to provide their own specifically designed 40 yard enclosed plasterboard containers, however the Islington HWRC is a busy site with many containers already located for waste recycling and disposal; therefore a 12 cubic yard container was selected. London Waste HWRC staff advise members of the public to ensure use of appropriate waste and recycling containers on site, therefore the scheme did not present any additional time constraints on site. Feedback from HWRC staff indicates that most visitors depositing plasterboard waste tended to do so over the weekend, with a need to ensure adequate container space during this period. In instances where the plasterboard container was becoming full ahead of collection, some material was restacked to enable greater volumes to be stored. The scheme operated on a one-for-one system, with each full container replaced with an empty container. Operational information A 12 cubic yard enclosed container was originally provided, however this was substituted after the first change over, since the container door was considered too heavy to be opened easily and therefore presented a health and safety issue. A 12 cubic yard open container was provided instead, with no further loading problems reported. Since Hornsey Street HWRC is an undercover facility, there was no need to cover the plasterboard container to limit wetness. On average the container was filled with plasterboard every nine days, with a total of five loads collected over a period of seven weeks. Average tonnage collected per container was approximately 2.6 tonnes. Waste plasterboard was collected from the HWRC by Country Style Waste Management Solutions Ltd and delivered to GRUK s depot in Sittingbourne, Kent.

7 Implementing a waste plasterboard collection scheme at Islington Council HWRC 7 Clean material from a HWRC plasterboard container, tipped for inspection at GRUK Ltd s Sittingbourne depot Each plasterboard container from Islington HWRC was inspected by GRUK prior to recycling. GRUK indicated that each load was largely free of contamination, with four of the five loads considered to be clean, dry quality plasterboard. One load received by GRUK included small quantities of unacceptable contamination including rubble and other household waste items, although not enough for the container to require rejection. Typically, more than 3% contamination will mean a container may be rejected. It was considered that the contamination was received due to careless or mistaken waste deposits by HWRC users, with no further instances of contamination reported by GRUK.

8 Implementing a waste plasterboard collection scheme at Islington Council HWRC 8 Cost information One of the objectives of the plasterboard collection scheme was to investigate the cost implications of collecting waste plasterboard from HWRCs. Gate fee cost for waste plasterboard was per tonne, which compared against Islington Council s alternative disposal charges for residual waste of per tonne (considered to be cheaper than landfill costs in other regions) including landfill tax. Transport (from Hornsey Street, Islington to Sittingbourne, Kent) costs for waste plasterboard was per delivery, with a one off cost of for container delivery. 12 cubic yard containers were also rented from GRUK Ltd at a cost of 70 per month, equating to an average cost of per tonne of plasterboard. Costs including alternate transport and haulage charges for residual disposal are summarised in the table below. Costs Plasterboard recycling Landfill disposal Average tonnage collected per load 2.60 tonnes 8.00 tonnes* Gate fee per tonne Haulage costs per load (incl hire) Container hire** N/A Total cost per load Disposal cost per tonne * Average weight of mixed residual waste container for landfill disposal ** Monthly container charge of 70 based on 4 collections per month Landfill Tax increased by 8 per tonne to 32 per tonne in April 2008 and will continue to increase by 8 each year to 48 per tonne until This will ensure that waste plasterboard costs will continue to become more economically attractive against landfill disposal charges.

9 Implementing a waste plasterboard collection scheme at Islington Council HWRC 9 Plasterboard recycling Waste plasterboard was transported to GRUK s Sittingbourne facility where it was inspected and stockpiled with other plasterboard in a covered bay prior to processing. GRUK s recycling technology not only handles gypsum blocks and plasterboard waste from new constructions and production scrap from the original manufacture of the virgin gypsum products, but also gypsum waste from all other sources, including waste from demolition and refurbishment sites. Waste plasterboard is taken from the stockpiles and fed into the processing plant which separates the gypsum from the plasterboard backing paper. The process can tolerate small quantities of contaminants, with nails, screws and other impurities often found in the HWRC waste. Whilst some plasterboard recyclers will accept wet plasterboard, GRUK prefer not to accept wet material, therefore enclosed containers are necessary. GRUK currently process approximately 10,000 tonnes of waste plasterboard per year, with capacity to accept up to 30,000 tonnes a year. The majority of waste plasterboard processed by GRUK is used in the remanufacture of new plasterboard products, although GRUK have also supplied recycled gypsum for use as a soil improver in agriculture. The company are currently looking to increase their recycling capacity through additional plant and depots across the UK. Stockpiled plasterboard bulked up prior to recycling.

10 Implementing a waste plasterboard collection scheme at Islington Council HWRC 10 Key findings The Islington trials successfully demonstrated that the introduction and operation of plasterboard collection via a HWRC is not resource intensive, with no changes to site management required. The scheme was easily maintained, with HWRC staff absorbing operational costs into their own day-to-day activities. The trials successfully diverted 13 tonnes of waste plasterboard over a 7 week period, which would have previously been disposed of via landfill. A significant proportion of waste plasterboard is likely to arise over the weekend. Therefore there was a need to ensure adequate capacity provision over this period and bank holidays. The trials at Hornsey Street HWRC were more costly than the alternate methods of landfill disposal. Yet the ability to introduce a large container coupled with the rise in Landfill Tax of 8 from 24 to 32 per tonne in April 2008 will increasingly make schemes such as this economically viable over alternative landfill disposal options.

11 Implementing a waste plasterboard collection scheme at Islington Council HWRC 11 Key criteria for introducing a HWRC plasterboard recycling scheme Larger HWRC sites offer the most significant opportunities for introducing a cost neutral or cost benefiting plasterboard collection scheme. Sites which can accommodate larger plasterboard waste containers (i.e cubic yard container) will enable between 8-10 tonnes of material to be collected per container, representing a Landfill Tax saving of up to 320 per container from April Smaller HWRC sites only able to accommodate small plasterboard containers (i.e cubic yard) may need to be in close proximity to a plasterboard recycler to be cost-neutral or cost-benefiting. Compaction may also make a significant difference on waste plasterboard recycling costs. Compaction techniques can increase the density of plasterboard by up to 50% per load. Haulage costs are a key determinant in considering the cost benefits of introducing a plasterboard recycling scheme. Seven plasterboard recyclers are currently operating in the UK, making collection of plasterboard highly competitive against haulage rates for disposal. It is important to ensure enough container capacity is provided over weekends and bank holidays. Time and labour costs for introducing a plasterboard collection scheme are negligible. Staff briefing on what is considered acceptable/unacceptable feedstock, including the end uses for plasterboard was considered useful in reducing contamination and increasing buy-in at HWRCs. Good practice guidance is also an effective method of improving understanding and communicating the methods of plasterboard collection services to HWRC operatives.

12 Implementing a waste plasterboard collection scheme at Islington Council HWRC 12 Further information For further details about the implementation of plasterboard recycling at Islington HWRC you can contact: Richard Kemp, Sales and Marketing Manager London Waste Limited Tel: richard.kemp@londonwaste.co.uk Matthew Homer, Recycling Manager Islington Council Tel: matthew.homer@islington.gov.uk If you re interested in implementing a plasterboard recycling scheme at one of your own HWRCs, or want to find the nearest plasterboard recycler, go to the WRAP Plasterboard Programme weblink at

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