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The numbers, and where they come from.
Every figure on this site links here. Where we’ve done the arithmetic ourselves, we say so and show how.
Plasterboard made in Australia
Around 1 million tonnes of plasterboard is produced in Australia every year.
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Construction plasterboard sent to landfill
The Gypsum Board Manufacturers Association of Australia estimates more than 100,000 tonnes of plasterboard waste from construction is landfilled every year. Board removed in renovation and demolition is on top of this.
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How much board becomes waste on site
Builders’ rule of thumb: 5–20% of the plasterboard ordered for a job ends up as waste.
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One regional example
Albury and Federation councils estimated around 1,000 tonnes a year of plasterboard offcuts from local builders was going to landfill.
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The comparison
The Sydney Harbour Bridge’s steelwork weighs 52,800 tonnes. 100,000 tonnes of plasterboard is about 1.9 times that, every year.
Our calculation from the sources below
What plasterboard is made of
Gypsum (calcium sulphate dihydrate) makes up around 94% of plasterboard. Most of the rest is the paper liner, around 6%.
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Boards that can’t easily be recycled
Foil-backed and insulation-bonded plasterboard are difficult to recycle with current technology.
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Board types that can be recycled
Most plasterboard can be recycled, including standard, fire-rated and moisture-resistant types, as long as it is clean and kept separate. Recyclers do not accept board containing asbestos or lead paint.
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Fibro and asbestos
Fibro products made before 1987 contained around 15% asbestos.
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Why gypsum and landfill don’t mix
Gypsum buried with biodegradable waste can produce hydrogen sulphide, a toxic, foul-smelling gas. Under EU rules, gypsum-based waste may only go into landfill cells that take no biodegradable waste.
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What recycled gypsum becomes
Gypsum recovered from plasterboard is used to make new plasterboard, in cement and concrete manufacture, and as a soil conditioner. Regulators advise against using it as animal bedding.
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Recycled gypsum in new board
Gyprock HD, made in Australia, is formulated with 10% recycled content. In France, Placo is working towards using up to 30% recycled material in its plasterboard.
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Gypsum on farms
Gypsum is used in agriculture to break up and improve clay soils.
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Victoria’s landfill levy
For 2026–27 the Victorian waste levy is 10.26 fee units a tonne in metropolitan areas and 9.03 fee units a tonne for rural industrial waste. A fee unit is $17.27 for 2026–27, so that is about $177.19 and $155.95 a tonne. In 2025–26 the metropolitan rate was $169.79. Waste a transfer station sends on to landfill is classed as industrial waste.
Our calculation from the sources below
How much a load of plasterboard weighs
An 8 m³ skip of unchipped plasterboard weighs about 1.6 tonnes (about 0.2 t/m³); chipped, about 2.1 tonnes. On that basis a full Plastercycle bin holds roughly 6–8 tonnes. This is an estimate — real loads will be weighed.
Our calculation from the sources below
Landfill levies around Australia, 2026–27
Per tonne: Victoria $177.19 metro ($155.95 rural industrial, $88.42 rural municipal); NSW $180.20 in the metropolitan levy area and $103.80 regional; Queensland $135 metro and $100 regional (general waste); South Australia $171 metro and $85.50 non-metro; Western Australia $90 in the Perth metropolitan region (published schedule; $88 prescribed for 2025–26); Tasmania $70.56 statewide. The ACT and Northern Territory have no state levy, though landfill gate fees still apply.
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How Victoria’s levy has climbed
The Victorian landfill levy started at $3 a tonne in 1992. It was $9 in 2009–10 and rose to $30 in 2010–11. It was $65.90 in 2019–20, $105.90 in 2021–22, $125.90 in 2022–23, $129.27 in 2023–24, $132.76 in 2024–25, $169.79 in 2025–26 and is $177.19 in 2026–27 (metropolitan municipal and industrial waste).
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What a sheet weighs
A 10 mm lightweight board is about 5.9 kg/m²; plasterboard generally runs 600–1,000 kg/m³, so 10 mm board is roughly 6–10 kg/m². We use 6.5 kg/m² as a working figure, so a standard 2,400 × 1,200 mm sheet (2.88 m²) is about 19 kg.
Our calculation from the sources below
A year of plasterboard, in bins
At about 7 tonnes a bin, 100,000 tonnes is roughly 14,300 bin loads. Parked end to end at 6.3 m each, that is about 90 km of bins — further than the 70 km from Melbourne to Geelong.
Our calculation from the sources below
A year of plasterboard, on the MCG
Stacked as sheets at about 700 kg/m³, 100,000 tonnes is roughly 143,000 m³. The MCG playing field is about 174 × 149 m, so around 20,000 m² — enough to bury the entire field about 7 m deep in plasterboard.
Our calculation from the sources below
Why gypsum can be recycled again and again
Gypsum is calcium sulphate dihydrate (CaSO₄·2H₂O). Heating drives off most of the water to make plaster; adding water back sets it hard again. Because the reaction is reversible, recovered gypsum can go round the loop repeatedly.
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Checked October 2026. Levy rates change every 1 July.