Rockwood Sustainable Solutions accepting drywall scrap

C&D materials recycling company Rockwood Sustainable Solutions has opened a drywall recycling facility in Lebanon, Tennessee, where Rockwood is based.

The Lebanon facility is now accepting drywall scrap from drywall installers, contractors and manufacturers, as well as broken drywall boards from distributors.

“From the start we’ve been focused on recycling construction materials,” Rockwood founder Lincoln Young says. “So, in many ways this is a natural next step in that progression. Customers have been asking us to take drywall for a while, and now we’re able to recycle it through Arrowhead Ag to complete the circle.”

The company says that in addition to extending the life of landfills, removing drywall can reduce landfill odors. When discarded gypsum gets wet, it can create hydrogen sulfide that produces a “rotten egg smell” known to prompt nuisance complaints.

As part of its drywall recycling endeavor, Rockwood has partnered with another Lebanon-based company, Arrowhead Ag, to help ensure beneficial reuse market of the product. Arrowhead makes soil amendments for the agriculture industry, including soil conditioners for farmers, growers and landscape contractors.

In the Rockwood recycling process, drywall is collected in roll-off containers by Rockwood or brought in by other haulers. When it arrives in the Lebanon plant, workers sort the materials and remove any contaminants.

The drywall then is processed for initial size reduction intended to eliminate the bulky aspect of the material and make it easier to handle and transport. Material is then shipped to Arrowhead Ag for further processing to meet that firm’s specs and requirements.

Arrowhead Ag pulverizes inbound material to a finer grade and then screens out the paper. The ground gypsum can then be used as soil amendments and fertilizer for the agricultural industry, while the paper can be used to make animal bedding.

Creating beneficial uses for the product is important to Young because it creates and end-of-life option for drywall scrap. It also is important to Arrowhead, which now has a steady supply of feedstock.

“When our green industry customers want product they want it now, so having a steady supply of good, clean material is huge for us” Arrowhead Ag president Doug Giles says. “We can grind the drywall to the size we need for particular uses—whether as a bulking agent, as a soil conditioner for the ag industry, or whatever farmers, growers or landscape contractors need. We can also blend the material with compost or other feedstocks that they may desire.”

Rockwood began accepting drywall at its Lebanon facility Sept. 1, but says the the project began roughly two years earlier. Before that, Young had been investigating the possibility for several years, determining what equipment was required, what volumes were feasible and what sort of beneficial end use products were able to be developed. 

Young started recycling drywall for his Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) customers. “In order to get our customers into a higher percentage of recycling for LEED, we had to figure out a sustainable solution for drywall,” he says.

Young hopes to see the business grow and continue to push toward sustainable material management throughout Tennessee.

“We are excited about this opportunity because it not only helps our customers but also our other partners in the area through developing infrastructure in the region," he says.