Management of soils from start to finish

Turn surplus soil from a liability into an opportunity

Excavated soil can represent one of the largest and most unpredictable costs on a construction project. Without the right strategy, material that could potentially be retained, treated or beneficially reused can end up being unnecessarily transported and disposed of off site.

Soils Management helps clients find the lowest-cost compliant solution for surplus soils.

We combine technical understanding of contaminated land, waste legislation, soil treatment and materials reuse with detailed knowledge of the commercial soil treatment, recovery and disposal market.

This allows us to look at the whole project, rather than simply finding somewhere to dispose of the soil.

Why use Soils Management?

Our first objective is to minimise the amount of material that needs to leave site.

We review site investigation information, earthworks requirements, chemical data and proposed construction activities to understand what soils will be generated and how they can best be managed.

Where appropriate, we identify opportunities to:

• Reuse suitable soils directly on site
• Segregate soils to prevent clean and contaminated materials becoming mixed
• Treat soils on site to enable their reuse
• Screen and process soils to produce usable engineering materials
• Manage soils through the CL Definition of Waste Code of Practice where appropriate
• Use environmental permitting routes where these provide the most appropriate solution
• Recover soils at suitable off-site facilities
• Minimise the quantity of material requiring landfill disposal

The result can be a significant reduction in disposal, haulage, treatment, imported aggregate and landfill tax costs.

Independent advice focused on your project

Soils Management is not tied to a particular landfill, treatment facility or disposal route.

Our objective is therefore to identify the solution that works best for the project.

We consider the technical, regulatory, operational and commercial implications of each available option before recommending a soils-management strategy.

This independence allows us to challenge the assumption that excavation automatically means disposal.

Making better use of site investigation data

Construction projects often contain substantial quantities of environmental and geotechnical information, but this information is not always interpreted from a soils-management perspective.

We use the available data to identify different soil populations and determine how each can potentially be managed.

Early identification of clean, suitable, contaminated and potentially treatable materials can allow soils to be segregated during excavation rather than becoming mixed into a single, more expensive waste stream.

Where information is insufficient, we can also identify targeted additional testing rather than commissioning unnecessary analysis.

Treatment and reuse on site

Where soils cannot be reused in their existing condition, treatment or processing may provide an alternative to disposal.

Depending upon the material and contaminants present, solutions can include screening, segregation, blending, stabilisation, bioremediation and other appropriate treatment techniques.

We can help establish the regulatory framework, treatment methodology, acceptance criteria and validation requirements needed to demonstrate that the resulting material is suitable for its intended use.

Where appropriate, this can allow material that might otherwise have been exported from the project to be retained and beneficially reused.

Reducing disposal costs

Some material will inevitably need to leave site.

When it does, correct classification and segregation become particularly important.

Sending all excavated material to the same facility can be unnecessarily expensive. Different soil streams may have very different treatment, recovery and disposal options.

By understanding the material before it leaves site, we can identify appropriate outlets and compare the true cost of each solution, including treatment charges, disposal costs, haulage, landfill tax and the potential cost of replacing exported material with imported aggregate.

Consider soils before excavation starts

The greatest savings are often achieved before the first excavator enters the ground.

Early involvement allows Soils Management to influence the earthworks and waste strategy while there is still an opportunity to change how materials are excavated, segregated, treated and reused.

This can reduce waste movements, vehicle movements, imported materials and disposal costs while improving environmental performance and reducing regulatory risk.

One strategy from excavation to final destination

Rather than appointing separate consultants to consider waste classification, materials reuse, permitting, treatment and disposal, Soils Management can bring these elements together into a single strategy.

From initial site investigation data through to the final movement or reuse of material, we can help answer one fundamental question:

What is the safest, most compliant and most cost-effective way to manage the soils generated by this project?

The Soils Management difference

We don't start by asking:

“Where can this soil be disposed of?”

We start by asking:

“Does it need to be disposed of at all?”

That difference can fundamentally change the cost of managing soils on a construction project.

Soils Management — providing peace of mind whilst saving you money.