Contaminated Soil Recycling

by Sam on February 17, 2012

Soil Recycling

Soil recycling can save you money! (@ e-magic)

An excellent idea, avoid the high costs associated with landfill tax and you may even be able to re-use your soils on site, removing the costs of replacing the materials.

Soil recycling can be approached on-site or off-site, the basics principles are -

On-site- Based on SEPA’s (Scottish Env Agency) Land Remediation And Waste Management Guidelines, re-use of contaminated soils may be carried out without a waste management license if the excavated soils fit these 6 criteria.

If those doesn’t apply to your site then these may-

Soil remediation treatments including bioremediation, chemical oxidation etc.. are all carried out to reduce contamination to ‘acceptable’ levels.  Whilst this can be carried out to change the waste criteria and facilitating cheaper disposal, this can also be carried out to enable the soils to be re-used on site.  A few regulatory hoops will need to be jumped through.

Off-site- Soil treatment centres, of which more and more are springing up around the UK, take soils and treat them to reduce contamination levels.  Please note no landfill tax is levied!  Soils recycled this way are often re-used by the treatment centre for their own purposes.

If you do have the time for treatment but not the space a temporary treatment centre can be set up.  And yes this can be co-ordinated with several sites so that treatment costs can be shared.

There you have it, with so many options soil recycling may be right for your site.  Feel free to ask us any questions below, or contact us directly!

Everything you wanted to know about soil remediation but were too afraid to ask

This free guide will help you understand the whats, the whys and the hows of soil remediation in the simplest terms. Download it now for free!

Download!

{ 0 comments }

6 Criteria for Soil Re-use

by Sam on February 17, 2012

Land Remediation and Waste Management Guidelines

6 Criteria to re-use your soils (@katerha)

As part of the recent Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011, SEPA’s Land Remediation and Waste Management Guidelines (Still awake), an all important criteria for re-use of excavated soils on site without the need for a license exists.  Keep your fingers crossed that you can meet all six.

1. The use is a necessary part of the planned works.

2. The material is suitable for that use.

3. The material does not require any processing or treatment before it is reused.

4. No more than the quantity necessary is used.

5. The use of the material is not a mere possibility but a certainty.

6. The use of the soil will not result in pollution of the environment or harm to human health.

Taken from http://www.sepa.org.uk/waste/waste_regulation/idoc.ashx?docid=567836f1-dfa6-4d13-a6d0-0b07f4b2d614&version=-1

Everything you wanted to know about soil remediation but were too afraid to ask

This free guide will help you understand the whats, the whys and the hows of soil remediation in the simplest terms. Download it now for free!

Download!

{ 0 comments }

Soil Remediation Guide: Your free eBook!

February 6, 2012

   A guide for the uninitiated!  Download your free copy here. If you’re dealing with contaminated land then this guide will help you understand where to start and which direction you may want to head in the future.  The soil remediation field has evolved rapidly over the last decade, resulting in what can appear to be a complicated system.  [...]

Read the full article →

Is Contaminated Land a Problem?

February 3, 2012

  Whether contaminated land is problem largely depends on 2 main factors, does the contamination provide a risk to site users, and/or does the contamination provide a risk to the public and wider environment? In the simplest terms you will need to have at the very least a Phase I report on the site, listing a history [...]

Read the full article →

Plastic Eating Fungus Discovery

February 1, 2012

Our friends in the USA have managed to isolate a Fungus which degrades polyurethane, a substance which is used in foams, seals, adhesives and hard and flexible plastic parts.  The fungus has been named Pestalotiopsis microspora, a name which may become as well known as dehalococcoides (a hydrocarbon degrading bacteria widely used in bioremediation). Excitement [...]

Read the full article →

What is Soil Remediation?

January 23, 2012

   It does depend on who you ask, as that’s me then I’ll tell you what it means to an environmental remediation contractor. Soil remediation is broadly speaking solving a problem you have with a soil.  Problems can be structural and/or environmental, solutions exist which conquor both.  Environmental problems are generally caused by contaminants, substances in the [...]

Read the full article →

What are the effects of a freshwater oil spill?

January 20, 2012

The footage of the crusie ship the Costa Concordia lying on it’s side in the clear blue waters off the west coast of Italy has once again raised the spectre of a major fuel oil spill into a maritime preserve.  Fortunately the seas have been calm and the salvage engineers appear confident that they can empty the on board [...]

Read the full article →

How much does contaminated soil disposal cost?

January 18, 2012

As we keep getting asked this question we thought an update would be in order. At present the UK landfill tax is £56 per tonne rising to £64/t in April 2012. Hazardous soil disposal rates vary across the country from around £30/t – £60/t depending on the type of contamination and volume.  Essentially the greater [...]

Read the full article →

The 12 remediation days of Christmas

December 19, 2011

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… A grossly contaminated site. On the Second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… A planning condition for my grossly contaminated site. On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… A comprehensive Phase 1 report, for the [...]

Read the full article →

Is Land Remediation Tax Relief Safe?

December 7, 2011

The answer is YES, for now.  Following the decision to abolish 36 tax reliefs by HM Treasury, which included land remediation tax relief, basically tax relief for developing brownfield sites.  The Treasury opened a consultation giving an opportunity for interested parties to put forward a case against abolition / the timeframes decided upon. With the current [...]

Read the full article →