Cement makers eye recycled gypsum.

* A representative from the Portland Cement Association (PCA), Skokie, Ill., says the industry is still looking at the use of recycled gypsum in cement production.

"We have to make sure the formulations will work and that the quality of our product will be maintained," said Lionel LeMay of the PCA.

LeMay addressed the use of gypsum during a press conference held by the PCA at the U.S. Green Building Council's annual exposition, held in Pittsburgh in mid-November of 2003.

Cement formulations were the main subject of the event, as PCA announced that the cement industry was working to change its ASTM-controlled formulation to allow as much as 5 percent ground limestone in its final product. This will allow the industry to cut back by an equal percentage the amount of material it needs to send through its kilns, saving on energy and greenhouse gas emissions.

Separately, another end market that continues to be studied for scrap drywall is in the commercial fertilizer segment.

The next issue of Construction & Demolition Recycling will include a synopsis of a research project conducted by WasteCap Wisconsin that involved this potential end market.