Does your construction waste contain gypsum?
The Enviroment Agency for England and Wales has recently changed the rules relating to the disposal of plasterboard and other similar wastes to landfill. Gypsum, a major component of plasterboard, can produce hydrogen sulphide gas when mixed with other wastes in a landfill. Hydrogen sulphide is extremely malodorous at very low concentrations (bad egg smell) and is toxic at higher levels of exposure. As a result of severe odour issues around some landfills, the landfilling of gypsum or other sulphate containing wastes with “biodegradable” waste has been prohibited in England and Wales since July 2005. Until recently, the Agency took the pragmatic view that where a waste contained less than 10 per cent of gypsum or another sulphate phase, separate disposal was unnecessary. As a result of new scientific information, however, the Agency has now removed the 10% limit. As of 1 April 2009, gypsum and plasterboard cannot be mixed with wastes containing biodegradable materials in landfills. Gypsum-based material and plasterboard must be separated from other wastes so it can either be, recycled, reused or disposed of properly at landfill in a separate cell with non-biodegradable waste such as asbestos or stable non-reactive hazardous waste. There are 47 permitted sites in England and Wales with such separate cells. Although plasterboard must be separated from other wastes, it is not hazardous waste and the hazardous waste rules do not apply.
The IOM lab can readily identify whether materials that you wish to dispose of contain gypsum or other sulphate materials. Please contact Steve Clark for further information.