Disposal of old plaster and plasterboard

[maxine]

Hi everyone

Just wondered if anyone could shed some light or give some ideas on disposal of plaster and plasterboard.

Plasterboard cannot now go to landfill and we have arrangements in place to separate this out from other waste but I am struggling to find out what the actual legislation is regarding plaster as some articles refer to it as being separated out (from general waste and rubble) and some don't.

Both waste management suppliers that we use have doubled their prices for taking away plaster and plasterboard so I am keen to find a better solution if I can as it is costing us an extra £800 per year from previous years costs!

Here is a link for Environment agency http://www.netregs.gov.uk/netregs/businesses/construction/62381.aspx

Just wondered what everyone else was doing really for old plaster?

Thanks everyone

 

[fisicx]

There's a load of it dumped in a layby down the road. Is this any help?

 

[Jenni384]

I dumped a load at the local tip a month or 2 ago. Don't know if it's different for private/commercial but they didn't have a problem with it.

 

[Red Eye Media]

I dumped some yesterday at the tip. They had a section just for plasterboard.

 

[PERCY67]

I used to have the same problem, so I hit on two solutions.

Firstly I used to ask the homeowner could they dispose of it themselves to keep the costs of any work down.

Or if this was not possible, I got a waste carriers licence, and took it to the waste transfer station my self, and just tell the general household waste, and then just dump it with everythig else

They would sort it anyway as it get recycled, along with wood, electrical items, etc.

It certainly kept the costs down

 

[maxine]

yeah, there are areas for recycling plasterboard which isn't too much of a problem but unused/old plaster is a bit of a pain as I cannot get a straight answer out of waste management suppliers on whether it has to be separated out as "gypsum" or whether it can go in with general rubble for landfill.

I just wish that when things like this come into place (since April 09) that there would be clear guidelines

I am onto ringing around another load of people now as I have put this off for too long and need to try and get some answers somehow ... you can understand why some people tip in laybys cant you?

 

[maxine]

I got a waste carriers licence, and took it to the waste transfer station my self, and just tell the general household waste, and then just dump it with everythig else

See this is a problem for us as they wont accept it at the waste transfer station (we have WC License) without it being pre-sorted, which is fine, but cannot clarify what they want us to do with plaster. At the moment they are treating it as gypsum waste so we get charged loads compared with general rubble/rubbish but when I try to understand the regs I don't think it is plaster that is a problem but just plasterboard (has to be kept dry, gives off fumes or something at landfill).

We used to have big wheelie bins on a collection basis but now our old supplier is saying that we have to have a skip instead for plasterboard and plaster and I cannot have a skip permenantly outside our house (neighbours + treble the costs) and I would still need a couple of bins for general.

It's all a bit of a faff. But, if I could get to grips with rules on plaster then could make some decisions.

I know the easiest option is just to tell people to get rid themselves but its not very customer friendly in my view (we had a lady put her back out a couple of years ago!) and surely there should be some better options available for small trades who deal with gypsum waste.

Don't know. Guess I am talking out loud now. Shall go away and do some research and come back with findings

 

[Bri]

I had the same problem when we were on a site in the summer on a couple of refurbs. I said what if we left the plasterboard out in the rain , it becomes paper and pulp then. Skip Hire Co were stumped.

 

[14A]

Maxine,

Could you not segregate the plaster/plaster board and sell it to the cement factories? Thats what my local council do apparently. Turn a cost into a income.

 

[maxine]

Thanks 14A... I shall look into that

 

[14A]

I want 5% of the sales then

Let me know the outcome please, I would like to know if its a viable option for you.

 

[maxine]

Yeah I will 5% done!!

I read something on the netregs website about recycling plaster and apparently using it in soil (like I am going to bury it in my garden???) and also about it being recycled for cement.

I just want to get rid of it.

Where are the gypsies when you want them? They usually want everything else

 

[UKSBD]

Is that not what the space in stud walls, or the void between floors is for?

 

[maxine]

Is that not what the space in stud walls, or the void between floors is for?

Ah, so that's where I have been going wrong! Dur! Thinking like a girl again

 

[gordonthegofor]

Is that not what the space in stud walls, or the void between floors is for?

Extra fire protection?

 

[Rainbow Chasers']

you can recycle it by chewing it up (not physically you understand! lol!) and then you can use it in cement - ideal for garden walls/paths i suppose!

You may even sell it as said before, i know a mate makes a bomb out of cardboard and clingfilm.

As for burying in the garden - mate bought an ex-council house, a nice one out in the sticks, had half acre garden, and only three houses in a row. He thought he would pop an extension and conservatory on a sell it for a nice profit.

Whilst digging the foundations, he found something buried........a ford capri! complete! Funny as!

 

[mattley23]

hmmmm, my skip company are happy to take away plaster and plasterboard so havent really encountered any issues as yet

 

[skyhi2]

Interesting thread Maxine.

May i ask where the water goes when the spreads wash out the trugs/gorillas/buckets ?

Skyhi2.

 

[maxine]

Skyhi2

Where does the water go? Well I am not entirely sure how this works but something to do with two buckets on the go and one is a "washout bucket" and then when there is only a small amount of dirty water left it gets tipped in an old plaster bag and goes hard (and gets taken away and it's this that has to be disposed of properly)

mattley23, you are lucky that your supplier is just taking it in with a mixed load and not charging you more for it. Would you have noticed a price increase for them sorting it for you?

Rainbow Chasers ... ford capri eh? Wonder where I had left it!

 

[skyhi2]

Maxine,do you use a skip company in particular ?

I take it you have skips at the various sites where you have contracts ongoing.

I am aware of the regulations that are in place now,but as mattley points out in his post,totally ignored in some parts of the country.

And that includes the Manchester area too,unless somebody knows otherwise.

A skip here is around £125 and you can put anything you like in it,( barring the obvious,tyres,gas,fridges ) which includes plaster/boards.

Reason i was asking about the waste water,that goes in the skip too,and not down the loo/drains

Skyhi2.

 

[maxine]

Thanks Skihi2

No it doesn't go down the drains but back into an empty plaster bag in and in the rubbish.

We are only little so don't have skips dotted around.

At the moment we have one skip and two large wheelie bins outside our premises and an empty wheelie bin fits in a van to take to a customers premises and the waste company will collect from there within a radius (provided it is only general rubbish)

Now all that was perfectly fine until the regs meant that plaster and plasterboard needed to be treated separately. We have been told that we cannot just bung it in with studwork, rubble, old tiles and bathroom suites. But I don't understand if the regs apply to plaster aswell as plasterboard.

It might be that the regs are not being ignored but since it is being treated at the waste site anyway they don't mind sorting out small amounts of gypsum but where the load is more then other arrangements need to be made (with a large price increase!)

My problem is that I cannot have a skip outside our premises on a permanent basis because it is a residential area and a) not fair on our neighbours and b) takes up too much room with the wheelie bins there too.

Ideally I want to be able to just have one wheelie bin for general and plaster (depending on the rules) and one wheelie bin with a customer for collection and the plasterboard taken off to a recycling centre.

 

[maxine]

Should have said that what we have been told with plasterboard is not to put it in a skip as it gets wet and gives of fumes.

They will collect it in a skip though but costs increase from £20 per collection of a wheelie bin to around £180 for a skip plus I have the added cost of transporting it from customer to skip whereas before I could have it collected from customers site.

I might be going round in circles with this explanation lol

 

[skyhi2]

Whoever told you that wet plasterboard gives off fumes is pulling your leg Maxine.

I think British Gypsum would be a bit miffed too

There was some plasterboard in the US a few years ago they had problems with if i remember correctly.

Cheap Chinese stuff that gave off sulphide ( rotten eggs ) gas when wet.

Although dri-wall adhesive can get a bit smelly when mixing it

I was going to suggest you phone around for another skip company who would take the plaster,but if you dont have skips :|

Skyhi2.

 

[willitbe]

See this is a problem for us as they wont accept it at the waste transfer station (we have WC License) without it being pre-sorted, which is fine, but cannot clarify what they want us to do with plaster. At the moment they are treating it as gypsum waste so we get charged loads compared with general rubble/rubbish but when I try to understand the regs I don't think it is plaster that is a problem but just plasterboard (has to be kept dry, gives off fumes or something at landfill).

We used to have big wheelie bins on a collection basis but now our old supplier is saying that we have to have a skip instead for plasterboard and plaster and I cannot have a skip permenantly outside our house (neighbours + treble the costs) and I would still need a couple of bins for general.

It's all a bit of a faff. But, if I could get to grips with rules on plaster then could make some decisions.

I know the easiest option is just to tell people to get rid themselves but its not very customer friendly in my view (we had a lady put her back out a couple of years ago!) and surely there should be some better options available for small trades who deal with gypsum waste.

Don't know. Guess I am talking out loud now. Shall go away and do some research and come back with findings

I think you'll find it will just end up costing more to do the job.

You are breaking the law if you are having bins at your home for someone elses waste. You aren't a waste transer station, so not allowed to hold waste of any description unless it is household waste of your own making.

I know it is all a bit OTT but if you get reported for any reason, the Environment Agency will make a fuss, just for stats sake if nothing else.

A bummer I know, but dems the rules!

 

[skyhi2]

Willitbe i never thought about that aspect of it.

Maxine,just another thought,do all your vehicles that bring the rubbish to your home have a waste carriers licence ?

Skyhi2.

 

[maxine]

It's commercial waste covered by a waste management agreement... all above board and legal

And yes to waste carriers license

 

[maxine]

Whoever told you that wet plasterboard gives off fumes is pulling your leg Maxine.

I think British Gypsum would be a bit miffed too

Not when it immediately gets wet (ie; outside in the rain in a skip) but when it goes to landfill apparently... see extract from environment agency website...

Changes to guidance on gypsum waste

Gypsum, when mixed with biodegradable waste, can produce hydrogen sulphide gas in landfill which is both toxic and odorous. Science now confirms that the relationship between the amount of sulphate in waste and the production of hydrogen sulphide gas is complex. Therefore we cannot set an acceptable limit below which gypsum can be deposited with biodegradable waste without creating this gas.

 

[maxine]

You are breaking the law if you are having bins at your home for someone elses waste. You aren't a waste transer station, so not allowed to hold waste of any description unless it is household waste of your own making.

I know it is all a bit OTT but if you get reported for any reason, the Environment Agency will make a fuss, just for stats sake if nothing else.

A bummer I know, but dems the rules!

Just on this point, you got me worried so I double checked with the Environment Agency today to see if we needed to apply for any other exemptions but we are still OK working as we are with the wheelie bins under para 50 of waste exemption and this is an extract from the email they sent us confirming things.

Paragraph 50 Exemption, Storing waste not at the place of production

Storing non-liquid waste NOT at the place of production. [Exemption 50]

Key conditions

This exemption allows you to store waste pending its management elsewhere at a site other than where it was produced.
The waste must be stored in secure containers.
You must be the owner of the containers or have their permission.
You must either:
Be the occupier of the land.
Have the consent of the occupier of the land to carry out the activity.
Be otherwise entitled to carry out the activity on that land.

Key limits

Maximum storage time: 3 months.
Maximum quantity: 50 cubic metres at any one time.

What else do you need to know

This exemption does not apply to circumstances where the main business is waste management.
It does not apply to liquid waste.
It does not apply to hazardous waste.
You do not need to register for these exemptions but you will need to ensure you comply with the conditions or limits.

 

[maxine]

do all your vehicles that bring the rubbish to your home have a waste carriers licence ?

I meant to say before that it is a company licence and covers all vehicles not per van.

 

[skyhi2]

You need to check with your local council Maxine and not the Enviroment Agency.

I would just make a general enquiry and do not give them your name or address.

I suggest the above as they will freak out if you tell them what you are doing

"50 cubic metres for 3 months" @ your home address made me chuckle tho.

Skyhi2.

 

[maxine]

Ha Ha... I don't have 50 cubic metres at my home address LOL... That is bigger than my home address

 

[skyhi2]

I was just quoting the statement from the enviroment agency

Skyhi2.