GtoG - from gypsum to gypsum: a circular economy for the gypsum industry with the demolition and recycling industries - Life 11 ENV/BE/001392

The European Gypsum Industry wishes to promote a circular economy mindset across Europe by creating a deconstruction culture. Gypsum products can be counted amongst the very few construction materials where “closed-loop” recycling is possible, i.e. where the waste is used to make the same product again. The European Gypsum Industry is conscious of those challenges which are embedded in the Waste Framework Directive1 and wants to rationalize even more its efforts in conjunction with the relevant operators in the construction chain to recover construction and demolition waste. The European Gypsum Industry wants to enhance the access to natural resources by developing outstanding C&D waste management that will divert C&D waste from landfill applying the waste hierarchy (prevent-reuse-recycle-recover, dispose) in accordance with the life-cycle impact of gypsum products and systems (from extraction until the end-of-life). Applying dismantling techniques instead of demolishing the building will lead to sorting and recycling of non-load bearing elements for re-use in the production process. However, as the waste characterization differs, the production processes of the manufacturers must be adapted to increase the recycled content in the product. This needs research and development. Deconstruction is an essential step in waste recycling feasibility and should become mandatory if we want to obtain a circular economy. Deconstruction should also be applied in major renovation and light renovation of buildings. Internal partition in an office can be dismantled in case of refurbishment of that office, which is not the case currently. Education of the workforce is here essential to create a dismantling mentality when it is easy to be implemented