RCG launches new rail flow for Austria’s gypsum recycling loop
Rail Cargo Group (RCG) has the intention to introduce a new service for the transport of recycled gypsum on behalf of GzG Gipsrecycling (GzG). The service will connect a new processing plant in Stockerau to Saint-Gobain’s plasterboard factory in Bad Aussee, creating Austria’s first end-to-end circular-economy supply chain for gypsum.
The launch comes ahead of Austria’s nationwide landfill ban for gypsum waste, which enters into force on 1 January 2026. The new system is designed to divert construction-site gypsum from disposal and feed it back into industrial production. GzG opened its recycling plant in Stockerau in late October. The facility has its own rail siding, allowing RCG to load processed recycled gypsum directly into single wagons for onward transport to Styria.
According to the partners, the recycled material can replace up to 40 per cent of the natural gypsum used in plasterboard manufacturing. Initial volumes are already moving, with regular flows expected to ramp up through 2026. RCG described the system as an example of how rail can support closed-loop industrial supply chains by reducing truck traffic and ensuring a stable movement of secondary raw materials.
Landfill ban
The upcoming ban in Austria will not only concern gypsum, but all waste in general, meaning that more of it will have to be transported. For example, more waste will have to be exported, as Vienna does not have the capacity to recycle all of it. Specifically for gypsum, operators expect demand to rise once the landfill ban takes full effect, potentially turning the Stockerau–Bad Aussee corridor into a permanent bulk-recycling route.
