Gypsum Waste Cubic Yards to Tons Calculator

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Gypsum Waste volume (yd³)

The volume of gypsum waste in cubic yards.

About 0.25 short tons per cubic yard (500 lb/yd³) for broken plasterboard thrown loose into a container; published C&D factors run 394-500 lb/yd³. The board itself is roughly twice as dense.

Approximate weight

2.5 short tons

High confidence

About 0.25 short tons per cubic yard (500 lb/yd³) for broken plasterboard thrown loose into a container; published C&D factors run 394-500 lb/yd³. The board itself is roughly twice as dense. A planning figure, not a specification. Confirm the figure with your supplier or waste contractor before relying on it.

Conversion factor applied: 0.25 short tons per yd³

Then change the inputs to see how far the answer moves.

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How this was calculated

Formula source(s)

Typical bulk density used here: approximately 0.25 short tons per cubic yard
Density varies with moisture, grading and how the material was processed

Inputs used

Gypsum Waste volume (yd³): 10

Intermediate steps

Conversion factor applied: 0.25 short tons per yd³

Final result2.5 short tons

Confidence note: About 0.25 short tons per cubic yard (500 lb/yd³) for broken plasterboard thrown loose into a container; published C&D factors run 394-500 lb/yd³. The board itself is roughly twice as dense. A planning figure, not a specification. Confirm the figure with your supplier or waste contractor before relying on it.

What this calculation does not cover

Paper-faced board takes water up rather than shedding it, and it is light enough that a soaking adds a far bigger share of its own weight than the same rain adds to rubble. Wet board also softens and slumps, so the volume you measured moves as well as the tonnage.
A stripped partition is not board. The studs and track come down with it and both are lighter in bulk than broken board, so a whole-partition volume overstates the board tonnage — more so again where the wall was insulated. Where gypsum has to be kept out of mixed waste that material is leaving the board container anyway, so split the pile before you measure it.
Sheet count is the better route only on a strip-out. Counting sheets off a wall against the manufacturer's published weight per sheet skips the density step entirely, but on new boarding the waste is the offcut fraction rather than the sheets, and the same sum returns several times the tonnage that reaches the container. Published weights are for new, dry, unskimmed board, which is not what comes off a wall either.

Estimated cost — your price

Price per short ton ($)

This site holds no price list for this material — local prices vary too much to publish honestly. Enter your supplier's price and the result is costed with it.

Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.

Sources checked 2026-08-26 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.0.0

Regulatory standards & verification citations2

Typical bulk density used here: approximately 0.25 short tons per cubic yard
Density varies with moisture, grading and how the material was processed

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Your workspace

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Plasterboard offcuts are among the bulkiest waste streams on a fit-out, and they are light enough that containers fill by volume long before they approach a weight limit. Gypsum also has to be segregated: most jurisdictions require it to be kept out of general mixed waste, because in landfill conditions it can generate hydrogen sulphide. Planning a separate container for board offcuts is therefore a compliance matter as much as an efficiency one.

Now that you have the number

These guides cover the work this quantity is for — the first ones run this calculator inside the section that raises the question.

Checking a Pre-2000 House Before You Strip It Outuses this calculator

Which materials in a 1970s house go to a laboratory first, which are non-licensed work, and what the answers do to the container schedule.

Overboarding or Taking Down a Lath and Plaster Ceilinguses this calculator

Two answers to a bowing Victorian ceiling — board over it or take it out — and the screw length, dust and container size that decide which.

Stripping Out a Fit-Out at Lease Enduses this calculator

A schedule of dilapidations lands eleven weeks before expiry. Which items the consents oblige you to remove, and what the strip-out actually weighs.

Gypsum Waste volume (yd³)	Approximate weight (short tons)
1	0.25
2	0.5
5	1.25
10	2.5
20	5
50	12.5
100	25

Gypsum Waste volume (yd³)

Approximate weight (short tons)

0.25

0.5

1.25

2.5

12.5

100

Frequently asked questions

Why must gypsum be separated?

Because in anaerobic landfill conditions gypsum can generate hydrogen sulphide, so most jurisdictions require it to be kept out of mixed waste. Segregation is a compliance requirement rather than a preference.

Can plasterboard be recycled?

Yes, where facilities exist — clean offcuts can be reprocessed into new board. Contamination with plaster skim, tape or insulation reduces or eliminates its value, so keeping the stream clean matters.

How do I generate less board waste?

Plan the layout before cutting and use sheet lengths that suit the walls. Longer boards on long walls produce fewer offcuts as well as fewer butt joints, so the same decision improves both waste and finish.