Closing the loop on plasterboard recycling at scale.
How a long-term supply partnership with Knauf gave Countrystyle the platform to build the UK’s largest single-site plasterboard processing facility.
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Knauf's Ridham Dock site established
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Partnership began with Countrystyle
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Tonnes of plasterboard processed per annum
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Dedicated recycling facility
The Partnership
A shared commitment to keeping valuable materials in use
Knauf have been manufacturing plasterboard at their Ridham Dock site in Sittingbourne since 1988, growing to become one of the UK’s largest suppliers of gypsum-based building materials. Operating 24 hours a day, their facility is committed to sustainability — particularly in increasing the use of Alternative Recycled Material (ARM) in production.
Plasterboard and gypsum products are 100% recyclable, and it was this shared commitment to closing the loop on a valuable material that brought Knauf and Countrystyle together. We began supplying Knauf with recycled gypsum powder back in 2007, providing a route for waste plasterboard to re-enter production as a quality raw material.
What started as a meaningful step toward a closed-loop system grew into a long-standing partnership, built on trust, shared values, and a determination to keep a valuable material in use rather than out of service.
"We're proud of what this partnership with Knauf represents — not just in scale, but in purpose. It's a long-term commitment to doing things the right way, together."
Julie Daniel
Senior Key Accounts Manager -Countrystyle Recycling
The Approach
A purpose-built facility, designed for scale, quality and continuous improvement
Following the signing of a long-term supply agreement in 2015, Countrystyle submitted planning and permitting applications for a dedicated plasterboard recycling facility in 2016. By mid-2017, a bespoke 5,300m² building had been constructed on the main Ridham Dock site — giving the capacity to process up to 120,000 tonnes of plasterboard per annum.
This partnership represents one of the most established examples of circular economy thinking in UK construction materials — where waste plasterboard is recovered, processed, and returned directly into Knauf's manufacturing process as a quality raw material.
Results in Detail
Over a decade of partnership, built on performance and purpose.
Over the decade-plus long partnership between Knauf and Countrystyle, we have processed significant volumes of recycled gypsum powder to be re-incorporated into new gypsum products — keeping a valuable material in continuous use.
UK's largest single-site facility
The 5,300m² Ridham Dock facility was the largest single-site plasterboard processing facility in the UK at the time of completion in 2017.
Bespoke on-site waste management
Ad-hoc and flexible servicing allows the Countrystyle team to flex around Knauf's production line requirements — growing or reducing services as needed.
120,000 tonnes capacity per annum
The facility provides the capacity to process up to 120,000 tonnes of waste plasterboard per year, returning it to production as quality recycled gypsum powder.
ARM use across the industry
Enhancements to the paper by-product process have opened new opportunities for ARM use — another step forward for the circular economy in construction materials.
Long-term supply partnership
A supply relationship beginning in 2007 evolved into a formal long-term contract in 2015 — one that remains active and continues to grow.
100% recyclable material stream
Plasterboard and gypsum products are fully recyclable. This partnership ensures that material is consistently recovered and re-entered into production rather than going to waste.
Circular economy solutions for manufacturing
If your operation generates material that deserves a second life, we'd like to talk.