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Environmental Concerns  Gypsum is a naturally occurring, inexpensive ore that has been mined around the world for thousands of years. Its principal use is in the manufacture of drywall or wallboard. Over the past sixty years, gypsum wallboard has emerged to become the most widely used construction material for interior walls in homes and offices. The environmental issues around gypsum focus on the traditional disposal of gypsum waste in landfills, the mining and transportation process, and the production of synthetic gypsum as a byproduct of the use of "scrubbers" in fossil-fuel-based power plants. Landfills Landfills pose a health and cost problem for governments and organizations charged with the disposal of public and industrial waste. Waste drywall takes up a tremendous amount of space in landfills, reducing their lifespan. This is a significant problem in many jurisdictions worldwide. Approximately 30 million tons of wallboard is manufactured in North America each year, and in spite of the fact that it is recyclable it is still being disposed of in landfills. Overall, it is estimated that scrap gypsum represents approximately one percent of the total waste stream in North America, and comprises up to 15 per cent of construction and demolition debris. The North American industry's rule of thumb is that drywall scrap will equal one pound per square foot of floor area, or about one ton per average house. Potential Environmental Concerns Under optimal conditions, gypsum wallboard is a relatively inert material. However, once it has been disposed of, under certain conditions it can become an environmental health concern. In the early 1980s, landfills in British Columbia were found to be producing toxic gas and leachate from concentrations of gypsum debris that had been buried for as little as two days. Environmental costs of mining gypsum All mining exacts a price on the environment and the economy, and the cost of mining gypsum and then transporting it via ship or rail to drywall manufacturing plants is considerable. Legislation in some jurisdictions mandates that sulphur dioxide be scrubbed from the emissions of fossil-fuel-powered plants. This has created an opportunity to reduce the costs of mining substantially through the creation of synthetic gypsum as a byproduct of the scrubbing process, and its use as a replacement for virgin gypsum in the manufacture of gypsum products. Gypsum's future as an environmentally friendly product Future trends for drywall as a "green" building material:
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5620 - 198 Street, Langley, BC, Canada V3A 7C7 Tel: (604) 534-9925 Fax: (604) 534-9688 E-mail: info@nwgypsum.com Click here to locate a Recycling Facility |
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