The new plasticized gypsum is suitable for a variety of building applications and best of all it has zero-waste output. Roosen was awarded $100,000 and “a truckload of potato chips” (his words).

But the real winner is the green movement, which undoubtedly profited from the exposure as well as the ingenious way Roosen’s product contributes to sustainability in the construction industry.

“I was really impressed with what they did with the competition — they really did send an important message,” says Roosen, CEO of Castagra™ Products.

All very exciting for Roosen and his colleagues at Castagra™, but also very exciting for anyone interested in the future of green building products. Similar to an earlier product Roosen developed called Accuflex (which has since been sold), the new veggie plastic is made of recycled gypsum and plasticized using vegetable oils.

This new product allows the paper coating of the recycled drywall to be incorporated into the finished product, which makes it fibrous, unlike Accuflex. Because of this, while Accuflex found uses as flexible mouldings and highly waterproof ship coating, the new product shows promise as a key component in eco-friendly doors, roofing, ceiling and wall panels and laminate flooring, among other things. It is also less expensive to produce than Accuflex.

Importantly, the manufacturing process creates zero waste, thanks to the fact that any waste products produced along the way can either be introduced at a later point in production, or can be cycled back through the production chain.

Until now Castagra™ has used castor oil as their natural vegetable oil ingredient, but Roosen says that canola oil shows promise. If Castagra™ makes the switch to canola, this would create a new market for the mainly Alberta-grown crop.

Roosen also points out that because every molecule of gypsum contains two molecules of water, the material has its own built-in fire extinguisher — half its weight is water.

Not only that but it is also highly waterproof. Roosen explains that while petroleum products have lost such properties, natural vegetable oils have their waterproof properties intact. As Roosen points out, this product will last years after tar products have broken down.

The patent just went through in April 2010, which means the product is not yet being distributed, but Roosen says orders are already coming in from the US and Germany.

Roosen is happy to have created a product that can help consumers move away from petroleum products. “We’re letting the sun do 90 per cent of the engineering and chemistry for us,” he says. “And one hundred per cent of everything that goes into the factory becomes part of the product — nothing goes in the air, water or garbage.”

The original Dragons’ Den Greenvention episode aired on CBC on June 7, and an update is in the works for the fall.  CL