In recent years, the concept of recycling gypsum drywall at the construction site has been proposed.  In this approach, scrap drywall from new construction is separated and processed using a mobile grinder and then size-reduced material is land applied (prior to placement of sod) as a soil amendment or a plant nutrient.  This approach may be feasible when the soils and grass species show a benefit from the application of gypsum.  This recycling technique offers a potential economic benefit when the cost to process and land apply the ground drywall at the construction site is less than the cost to store, haul and dispose of the drywall.

A number of projects have been conducted to evaluate this technology.  For more information, see: On-site Grinding of Residential Construction Debris: The Indiana Grinder Pilot [LINK] SWMCB Construction Waste Project [LINK to PDF] Several vendors specifically market services or grinders for this type of application.
Scrap drywall being loaded into a mobile grinder	Drywall being ground using a mobile grinder