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Placo and Serfim Recyclage promotes plaster recycling plant at Quincy-Voisins
Written by Global Gypsum staff
31 March 2022
France: Placo and Serfim Recyclage have revealed that they started operating a new 140t/day plaster recycling plant at Quincy-Voisins near Paris in October 2021. The companies say that the Pari Plâtre site is the first in the Paris region to be solely used for recycling plaster waste from construction sites.
Daily deliveries via the Placo Recycling network bring plaster waste from within a 250km radius to the site. The waste is then sorted by hand along an 80m production line to remove wood, ceramic, cardboard and polystyrene fractions. These materials are recycled separately. The plaster is crushed and screened with a 98% recovery rate. The plant stores reclaimed gypsum in two 80m3 silos. The gypsum is then transported to Placo’s gypsum wallboard plant at Vaujours for use as a secondary raw material.
Placo says it is the leading recycler of gypsum in France. Following the opening of Pari Plâtre the company has increased its plaster recycling target in 2030 target to 200,000t/yr. This will allow the subsidiary of Saint-Gobain to use up to 30% of recycled materials in the production of its wallboard products.
Eurogypsum to celebrate 60th anniversary
Written by Global Gypsum staff
31 March 2022
Belgium: Eurogypsum will celebrate its 60th anniversary at an event in Brussels to be held on 28 April 2022. The event will include a keynote speech by Janez Potočnik, a former European Commissioner for the Environment and architect of the commission’s circularity agenda. There will also be a panel discussion, bringing together leading policymakers to discuss opportunities to advance the European Union’s sustainability agenda in the built environment, the official launch of association’s EG60 guide and a photo exhibition. The full programme will be announced in due course. The European federation of national associations of gypsum product manufacturers was founded in 1961.
Saint-Gobain to install waste heat recovery system at Vancouver gypsum wallboard plant
Written by Global Gypsum staff
31 March 2022
Canada: Saint-Gobain has shared plans to install a US$3.19m waste heat recovery (WHR) system at its Vancouver gypsum wallboard plant in British Columbia. It has secured US$1.12m in funding from the provincial government’s CleanBC Industry Fund for the project. The producer says that the installation will increase the plant’s energy efficiency and reduce its CO2 emission by 10%.
Saint-Gobain said “This project will help our company to maximise our positive impact for our customers and the communities where we do business, while minimising our environmental footprint. We thank the CleanBC programme for its support, and look forward to many more years of sustainable, state-of-the-art manufacturing in Vancouver.”
US wallboard product sales grow by 4% to 2.54Bnm2 in 2021
Written by Global Gypsum staff
18 March 2022
US: The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports that total gypsum board product sales grew by 4% year-on-year to 2.54Bnm2 in 2021 from 2.43Bnm2 in 2020. 22.4Mt of gypsum was mined in 2021, a 1% rise from 21. Synthetic gypsum supply decreased by 10% to 13Mt from 14.4Mt. Imports declined by 11% to 25,700t from 29,000t but exports grew by 11% to 98,800t from 89,300t.
Saint-Gobain North America reduces electrical CO2 emissions by a third in 2021
Written by Global Gypsum staff
18 March 2022
Canada/US: Saint-Gobain North America and its subsidiary CertainTeed say they have reduced their CO2 emissions from electricity usage by about a third in 2021 through the use of renewable energy contracts. In February 2020, Saint-Gobain entered into a 12-year virtual power purchase agreement with the Blooming Grove Wind Farm in McLean County, Illinois. At the time, the agreement was the largest renewable energy deal in Saint-Gobain’s 356-year history. Saint-Gobain worked with Edison Energy, an industrial energy advisor, on the arrangement.
“We’re thrilled with the results of our partnership with the Blooming Grove Wind Farm, and will continue to look for ways to maximise our positive impact, for our customers and the communities where we do business, while minimising our environmental footprint,” said Mark Rayfield, the chief executive officer of Saint-Gobain North America and CertainTeed. “In this next chapter of our company’s history, our team will strive to lead our industry towards a more sustainable future.”