WRAP Funds Plasterboard Recycling Trials

Two projects that will explore the use of recycled plasterboard in agricultural applications have received funding from the U.K.-based Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

The Dairy Group, an independent dairy consultancy in the U.K. and Europe, has been awarded a contract worth £69,000 ($126,890) to develop and evaluate the potential of using a bedding material made from recycled plasterboard for dairy cattle.

According to a press release issued by WRAP, if 5 percent of dairy farmer used this type of bedding, more than 80,000 metric tons of scrap plasterboard could be diverted from landfills.

The project includes three activities: A farmer attitude survey to explore the scale of the market for a bedding material made from recycled plasterboard; on farm trials and evaluation of the material and an economic evaluation to determine potential benefits of its use.

The Dairy Group project is scheduled to finish in October 2006.

A second award has been given to Velcourt Ltd., a farm management company in the U.K. The £53,000 ($97,450) grant will be used to demonstrate that recycled gypsum from scrap plasterboard can be used as a soil conditioner on commercial arable farms. This project will compare recycled gypsum to virgin mineral gypsum in two sets of field trials, one on potatoes between February and November 2006 and the other on winter wheat between September 2006 and August 2007.

More information on this and other WRAP programs can be found at www.wrap.org.uk.