While it’s true that construction and demolition waste is a significant contributor to what ends up in New Zealand’s landfills – up to 50% according to Ministry for the Environment figures, many of those in the building sector are making great strides in their efforts to reduce waste. 

In 2019, GIB® partnered with Green Gorilla to offer onsite plasterboard recycling services in the Auckland region, and last year around 4 million kilograms of plasterboard which would otherwise have been sent to landfill was recycled - the equivalent weight of over 2,000 Utes! The amount diverted from landfill is also increasing, having grown by around 20% compared to the previous year, as more of the building sector getting behind waste recycling services.

GIB® plasterboard is made up of naturally occurring gypsum, paper from recycled sources and a small quantity of other ingredients like glues and additives that help improve the quality of the finished board. Nearly all GIB® plasterboard can be recycled back into gypsum which is reused in a range of compost and other products that enrich New Zealand soil and are also a super growth booster for fruit like Avocados.

It's not just soil and plants getting the benefits of recycled plasterboard, Winstone Wallboards’ new Tauriko manufacturing facility will be able to include recycled gypsum in new GIB® plasterboard – with up to 10% of gypsum inputs able to be recycled gypsum.

Aucklanders aren’t the only ones getting behind plasterboard recycling, services have now entered the Waikato, Nelson, Christchurch, and Central Otago regions with hopes of more operators in across New Zealand in the coming years.

How it works

Recycling service partners deliver bins or bags to site and when they are full, they are collected and taken to recycling centres which separates the waste into gypsum and paper. In the case of Green Gorilla in Auckland – waste bags can also be added to the GIB® Delivered to Site service.

Where to find recycling service partners

View more information about GIB® Plasterboard offcut recycling services in Auckland, Hamilton, Taranaki, Nelson, Christchurch, and Queenstown.

Good to know

Only unpainted GIB® plasterboard offcuts are recycled, ideally from new build construction sources so they don’t contain any unknown contaminants. Offcuts should be dry to touch so consider keeping plasterboard waste in a covered space to protect it from the weather.