Gypsum waste can and should be recycled not wasted in landfills
Henrik Lund-Nielsen, CEO, MBA Gypsum Recycling International A/S
Denmark, Europe Slide 2 HENRIK LUND- NIELSEN CEO Gypsum Recycling
International A/S, DENMARK Henrik Lund-Nielsen, 49, is from
Denmark. He holds an MBA from Denmark as well as from California,
US. Prior to entering the recycling industry, he worked as a CEO of
subsidiary companies of blue-chip Scandinavian corporations, like
the VELUX Group. In 2003 he joined Gypsum Recycling International
as a main shareholder and CEO. Since then he has spearheaded the
companys international expansion in to several new countries and
the achievements realised by Gypsum Recycling International under
his management have earned the company several environmental
awards. Henrik Lund-Nielsen is seen as the father of gypsum
plasterboard recycling in Europe and is a frequent speaker at
international conferences about recycling, waste and climate
change. Slide 3 Agenda 1.C&D and gypsum waste in landfills
around the globe 2. Gypsum waste is problematic in the landfills 3.
Benefits of recycling of gypsum waste 4. Successful policy
instruments 5. Our proven gypsum recycling solution Slide 4
Cows?????? Slide 5 Cows and the approach to the utilization of
resources found in the waste SOCIALIST APPROACH: You have two cows
. You decide to give one to your neighbor ! COMMUNIST APPROACH: You
have two cows . The State takes both and gives you some milk !
BUREAUCRATIC APPROACH: You have two cows . The State takes both,
shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away ! FRENCH
APPROACH: You have two cows . You go on strike, organize a riot,
and block the roads because you want to have three cows and feel
that you rightfully deserve them ! AMERICAN APPROACH: You have two
cows . You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of
four cows. Later, you hire a consultant to analyze why your only
cow suddenly has dropped dead ! You decide to sue your vetenirarian
!! GERMAN APPROACH: You have two cows . You re-engineer them so
they eat once a month, and milk themselves ! ITALIAN APPROACH: You
have two cows but you don't know where they are. You decide to have
lunch ! JAPANESE APPROACH: You have two cows . You re-design them
to miniature cows that can produce 20 times the milk of bigger cows
! AUSTRALIAN APPROACH: You have two cows . Business seems pretty
good. You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate !
GRI APPROACH: You have two cows . You clean them up to make them
attractive to each other. They produce multiple baby cows that you
can milk for many years !!! Slide 6 Summary Traditionally, in most
countries gypsum and plasterboard waste has been landfilled mixed
with other waste fractions Some countries, mainly European, have
found out that this is not the way to go for many reasons:
Landfills are running out of space Gypsum waste is particularly
problematic to landfill Landfilling gypsum waste does not utilize
the ressources found in the waste Gypsum Recycling International
has successfully developed and for more than 10 years operated a
technology that fully recycle gypsum plasterboard waste and utilize
all the ressources found in the gypsum waste Both fractions: the
gypsum and the paper from the gypsum waste, is recycled for a 100%
recycling rate Slide 7 C&D and gypsum waste in Landfills Around
the Globe C&D waste is the largest or second largest waste
fraction in most landfills around the globe Gypsum plasterboard/
wallboard waste is in most countries one of the 3 largest fractions
of the C&D waste landfilled The fraction is growing due to the
continued increase in the manufacturing and consumption of
plasterboard (particularly in the Middle East) As gypsum waste
cannot be incenerated (due to the generation of sulphur dioxide, a
toxic gas) landfilling is the most typical disposal route in
countries where recycling of gypsum does not occur Worldwide it is
estimated that 15 million tons of gypsum waste are landfilled, but
as gypsum waste is eternally recycable this does not have to be the
case ! Slide 8 Gypsum waste is problematic in the landfills
Landfilling gypsum waste make the landfills fill up faster ->
landfills reach their full capacity -> very dificult to extent
or build new landfills anywhere in the world Gypsum waste generates
hydrogen sulphide gas (H2S) in the landfills if the gypsum waste is
not landfilled in a separate cell where no organic waste is present
H2S is lethal in large concentrations, and deaths cases have
occured in landfills due to H2S As a consequence: Some states in
the US and Canada have implemented a ban on landfilling of gypsum
waste the EU has implemented regulations requiring that if
landfilled, the gypsum waste is landfilled in a separate cell where
no organic waste is present Landfilling the gypsum waste lead to
that the resources found in the gypsum waste are literally wasted
instead of being utilized Slide 9 Benefits of Recycling Gypsum
Waste Gypsum is eternally recycable without loss of quality, due
tot the chemical nature of the material Recycling generates local
green jobs; landfilling does not require a lot of labor, recycling
does Recycling of gypsum waste in many countries lowers the import
of expensive gypsum raw materials from abroad Recycling helps the
local gypsum industry to obtain raw materials at a lower cost For
each ton of gypsum waste that is being recycled instead of
landfilled 0,2 tons of CO2 emissions will be saved The Scandinavian
and Benelux countries have achieved recycling rates of gypsum waste
ranging from 50-85% and the recycled gypsum generated account for
25% of the gypsum raw materials used by the local gypsum plants
Slide 10 Successful policy instruments: Policy Instruments that do
NOT work Low or no landfill tax Soft requirements like best efforts
to the greatest extent possible Regulations without enforcement; No
inspections No tough financial penalties Social contracts with the
public, the waste sector or construction sector Why ? Because the
waste industry is a for profit business and the operator with the
lowest costs will prevail (also if this is caused by that the
operator does not follow the regulations) Consequently recycling
will only happen if it makes economic sense to do it the
authorities assure that operators not recycling will be penalized
Slide 11 Successful Policy Instruments A high Landfill tax ; All
studies of the recycling rates and landfill tax in various
countries have found that a very positive correlation between high
landfill tax and high recycling rates exist The landfill tax in
Scandinavia and Benelux is averagely 80 USD / ton High landfill
prices; If government controlled landfills, the landfills should
price in the lifetime cost of landfilling, not just the direct
cost. The average landfill price in Scandinavia and Benelux is
around 200 USD/T A high incineration price and tax to avoid C&D
waste is sent to incineration, when it can be recycled instead
Required on site segregation (into containers for the different
waste fractions) at building sites above a certain size of a
certain minimum percentage of the waste generated (typically
60-70%). Requirement for obtaining building permits that a waste
plan describing how 70% recycling of the waste made during the
building project can be achieved, coupled with requirement to
report on the volume of waste sent to recycling after the project
has been completed Ban on landfilling of specific waste types, that
are recyclable Strong culture of inspections, enforcement and
penalties towards the construction and especially the waste sector
Slide 12 Worldwide the leading recycler of gypsum/plasterboard
waste The preferred partner for recycled gypsum raw materials for
the top 5 plasterboard manufacturers in the world Driven by new
innovative solutions Mobile gypsum recycling system Own specialized
collection system for gypsum waste Active in 9 countries on 3
continents, including the US and Japan Recycling units in Europe,
North America and Asia Only focused on gypsum/plasterboard waste
Winner of numerous environmental awards, a.o. the The Recycler of
the Year in Sweden and the prestigious Cleantech Award; given to
The most promising Danish Cleantech Company About Gypsum Recycling
International A/S: Summary Slide 13 Gypsum Recycling System (since
2001) 90% 10% Slide 14 In Cooperation with the Best Knauf Gyproc/
Saint-Gobain Siniat/ Lafarge US Gypsum National Gypsum GRI serves
all the top plasterboard groups in the world. Multiple different
plants are under contract with GRI for the supply of recycled
plaster- board waste. Slide 15 Traditional Gypsum Waste Recycling
(the 2001 solution) 100% gypsum waste 90% RC gypsum powder10% paper
fraction Only the gypsum resources found in the waste were fully
utilized until now Paper fraction was not used as a paper until
now, but instead for incineration, composting etc Slide 16
Completely in line with the EUs ambition of utilizing all the
ressources found in watse Co-funded by the Eco-innovation
Initiative of the European Union Investment of more than 2,2 Mio
split between EU and GRI New Gypsum Paper Recycling Solution gypsum
wasteRC paperRC gypsum powder100% recycling Slide 17 New Gypsum
Paper Recycling System Slide 18 Previously and Now Previously Now
95% RC gypsum powder 5% RC paper 100% gypsum waste 90% RC gypsum
powder10% paper fraction 50% RC gypsum powder50% RC paper 100%
gypsum waste 90% RC gypsum powder10% paper fraction End result
Slide 19 Gypsum waste is filling up scarce space in the landfills
This space could be used for other non- recycable materials instead
Gypsum recycling is beneficial economically, environmentally and it
generates green jobs All resources found in plasterboard waste can
be fully utilized and nothing is wasted The question is not whether
to recycle gypsum waste or not - the question is when do you start?
Closing Remarks Slide 20 Henrik Lund-Nielsen, CEO, MBA Gypsum
Recycling International A/S Denmark, Europe Gypsum waste can and
should be recycled not wasted in landfills
