Saint-Gobain, through its building products subsidiary CertainTeed LLC, received the 2022 Better Project Award from the U.S. Department of Energy for the company’s recycling program at its gypsum wallboard plant in Silver Grove, Kentucky on May 18.
CertainTeed’s facility in Silver Grove is the largest gypsum wallboard plant in North America and one of the largest in the world. The recycling project announced in December will allow the facility to recycle and reuse 15,000 tons of paper per year that otherwise would have been sent to a landfill. The recycling technology works by grinding down waste gypsum and waste paper into fine particles, which are then sorted and reintroduced to the production process at the plant.
The new equipment was installed in Silver Grove only months after Saint-Gobain launched its new Grow and Impact strategy, which includes reducing waste and increasing the circularity of raw materials at its manufacturing sites.
“Our recycling technology in Silver Grove allows us to reduce our waste, reduce our consumption of natural resources and also reduce our production costs – all while continuing to produce the best gypsum wallboard product on the market,” said Dennis Wilson, Vice President Environmental, Social, Governance North America and Managing Director, Saint-Gobain Circular Economy Solutions. “We thank the Department of Energy for this tremendous honor, and we will continue to look for ways to minimize our environmental footprint while striving to maximize our company’s positive impact for our customers and the communities where we operate.”
CertainTeed is looking to deploy similar technology at its additional gypsum wallboard manufacturing sites in North America.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Projects awards recognize manufacturers who improve energy efficiency and competitiveness in the industrial sector. To be considered for an award, projects must deliver significant waste or energy savings and must be discreet, innovative, and replicable in similar industrial facilities.
