When renovating or building your own home, you’ll inevitably come to the part where you need to put up plasterboard. Working with plasterboard is dirty work that may leave plenty of waste. Plasterboard is a brittle material that’s easy to cut to the shape you need, but plasterboard can also break off if you grip it too hard or when accidentally dropped on the floor.
But what can be done with the leftover plasterboard from your construction project? Let’s take a minute to go over what plasterboard is and if you can recycle it.
What is Plasterboard?
Plasterboard is created by mining gypsum – a sulfate material mined from the earth. Gypsum mines are almost universal and can be found in Australia, Canada and many other countries worldwide. The production of gypsum to make plasterboard is one of the few processes in creating construction materials that are more environmentally-friendly and recyclable.
The process of mining gypsum to make plasterboard is relatively simple: Gypsum is mined from the rockface to make a gypsum powder mixed with other additives like paper pulp and water to make a slurry. This slurry is then sandwiched between two bases of fibreglass or paper backing (most modern plasterboard uses a paper base) before being heated and then left to dry.
The resulting product is plasterboard, which can be easily recycled – if and only if it hasn’t been combined with other additives from worksites. So, if something has spilt on it except for water, chances are you won’t be able to recycle it.
How Can I Recycle Plasterboard?
Recycling plasterboard is one of the best ways to get rid of it! Most disposal centres won’t take it, as it has to be kept separate from the rest of their materials. When the plasterboard breaks down, it releases a toxic substance called hydrogen sulfate. Though this is a natural process, plasterboard is kept separately from the rest of the garbage to avoid cross-contamination.
What’s Involved In Recycling Plasterboard?
If you have leftover plasterboard from your construction project that you want to get rid of, be sure to contact Sydney rubbish removal specialists like Cheapest Load of Rubbish and give us a general overview of how much plasterboard you have. We’ll see how we can help you dispose of it.
First, the plasterboard is collected by us at Cheapest Load of Rubbish. We then take it to our partners in the recycling industry that specialise in recycling gypsum.
Next, the gypsum recycling transfer station will grind the plasterboard using gigantic industrial machinery, leaving the gypsum in a fine powder, which can then be recycled to make new plasterboard. Because plasterboard is originally made from paper pulp and gypsum rock, this process reconstitutes the plasterboard to its original form before it’s made into the slurry we spoke of earlier.
How Else Can You Get Rid of Plasterboard?
So, how can you recycle plasterboard beyond taking it to your local big-garbage tip?
Give It Away
Plasterboard can be a costly construction material, particularly lately, as inflation has hit and the cost of everything has increased. Construction materials aren’t immune either – it’s one of the primary reasons the Australian construction industry was in such a bind over the last year.
To save other people some money – and there are plenty of people who can’t afford good-quality plasterboard so have to settle for cheaper, lower-quality alternatives, you can give your spare plasterboard to those in need. Ask around any of your friends or family that might be building a home or other dwelling, and post it online – you can, of course, attach a price to it!
Plasterboard Bar Counter
You might not consider plasterboard something you can do anything with beyond use as a wall covering. However, you can always use leftover plasterboard in other ways to save you from having to go through the expense of getting it removed by a Sydney rubbish removal specialist like Cheapest Load of Rubbish.
One of the many ways is to use it as a bar counter rather than using wood or another expensive overlay. While hardly ideal (as plasterboard isn’t exactly spill-proof), this can also be a good stop-gap measure to save money before buying a more permanent bar counter.
Plasterboard Ceiling or Wall Designs
Plasterboard is so easily cut into different shapes one could create unique and different ceiling or wall designs for other rooms in your home. If you want to do something special with your kids’ rooms, use plasterboard creatively on the ceilings or walls.
Whether you’ve got three sheets or thirty sheets of leftover plasterboard, our Sydney rubbish removal specialists at Cheapest Load of Rubbish are happy to swing by, collect and transport your leftover plasterboard to be recycled. We use our large trucks and strapping to ensure it is safe and secure while we drive, and the size of the plasterboard doesn’t deter us – whether we’re talking about full 4’ x 8’ sheets or hundreds of off-cuts, we can handle the load. Contact us today!
