Firms rubbish rules on plasterboard disposal

Demolition firms will be left stranded if the Environment Agency (EA) swoops to enforce plasterboard disposal rules, claim landfill operators.

The warning came as the waste sector was left unprepared for a sharp rise in waste plasterboard volumes last month.

CJ reported in July that landfill operators will return plasterboard waste to contractors after the EA introduced new regulations (CJ 13 July). Plasterboard must now be disposed of separately in a mono-cell at participating landfill sites for loads containing more than 10% plasterboard by weight.

Waste Recycling Group general manager for sales and marketing Tom Diggle told CJ the company saw a sharp rise in the volume of waste plasterboard in the middle of August after
companies saved money by clearing stocks ahead of the new regulations.

However, he said many landfill sites are reluctant to invest in plasterboard facilities, and the National Federation of Demolition Contractors (NFDC) told CJ it was aware of only two qualified sites in the country.

One industry source told CJ he expects EA officers to swoop on contractors and landfill operators to ram the message home. He said: “It’s the way of the world. What will really stimulate people is the first high-profile prosecution by the EA. It’s a sad fact, but that will make people more diligent about disposal.”

NFDC national secretary Howard Button said he is concerned that some firms may be stuck without a landfill site.

He added that demolition firms may be hit further if the EA moves the goalposts on plasterboard quantities. Button said: “The EA may ultimately rescind this 10%, I think they put it in as a stop-gap measure. The mixing of waste is not what we’re supposed to be doing in the first place.”

An EA spokesman told CJ: “Having the 10% is about being sensible – both the contractor and the company accepting the waste. The 10% is not there to bamboozle people and if they need to know about the rules they should call us.”