The Reuse of Excavated Soils from Construction and Demolition Projects: Limitations and Possibilities

The construction and demolition of infrastructure can produce a surplus of excavated soils that ends up at landfills. This practice is not sustainable, and approaches are needed to reduce soil waste and minimize environmental and human health hazards. The “Reuse of urban soils and sites” Working Group in the European Large Geotechnical Institute Platform (ELGIP) works towards a safe and resource efficient use of excavated soils for construction. By considering relevant literature and practicals based on experience in the participating ELGIP countries (France, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden), this study presents current practice related to the reuse of excavated soils, and the main barriers (regulatory, organizational, logistical and material quality) to effectively reuse them. Results show that there is no consensus on the best strategies to manage excavated soils in urban areas. This paper provides suggestions of ways in which stakeholders can increase reuse of excavated soils.

[1]  Per Lindh,et al.  Compaction- and strength properties of stabilised and unstabilised fine-grained tills , 2004 .

[2]  Gian Andrea Blengini,et al.  Resources and waste management in Turin (Italy): the role of recycled aggregates in the sustainable supply mix , 2010 .

[3]  Anand J. Puppala,et al.  Sustainability: An emerging discipline within geotechnical engineering , 2015 .

[4]  M. W. Bo,et al.  Geotechnical and geoenvironmental properties of recycled construction and demolition materials in pavement subbase applications , 2013 .

[5]  Anand J. Puppala,et al.  Sustainability and geotechnical engineering: perspectives and review , 2015 .

[6]  Lukumon O. Oyedele,et al.  Policy imperatives for diverting construction waste from landfill: Experts’ recommendations for UK policy expansion , 2017 .

[7]  Anand J. Puppala,et al.  A review of sustainable approaches in transport infrastructure geotechnics , 2016 .

[8]  Ruoyu Jin,et al.  An empirical study of perceptions towards construction and demolition waste recycling and reuse in China , 2017 .

[9]  Global Energy Assessment Writing Team.  Global Energy Assessment: Toward a Sustainable Future , 2012 .

[10]  L Posthuma,et al.  State of the art of contaminated site management in The Netherlands: policy framework and risk assessment tools. , 2012, The Science of the total environment.

[11]  J.L. Hao,et al.  A simulation model using system dynamic method for construction and demolition waste management in Hong Kong , 2007 .

[12]  Trung Thang Nguyen,et al.  Waste generation, composition, and handling in building-related construction and demolition in Hanoi, Vietnam. , 2020, Waste management.

[13]  Mohamed Osmani,et al.  Circular economy in construction: current awareness, challenges and enablers , 2017 .

[14]  Anand J. Puppala,et al.  Sustainable Reutilization of Excavated Trench Material , 2012 .

[15]  Seppo Junnila,et al.  Case study on the carbon consumption of two metropolitan cities , 2011 .

[16]  Alexis Sagastume Gutiérrez,et al.  Improving the environmental performance of an earthwork project using cleaner production strategies , 2013 .

[17]  G. Finnveden,et al.  Energy Use and Environmental Impacts of the Swedish Building and Real Estate Management Sector , 2011 .

[18]  D. Damigos,et al.  A review on current situation and challenges of construction and demolition waste management , 2018, Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry.

[19]  K. Boele-Woelki.  Association Francaise De Normalisation , 2017 .

[20]  E Ferreira da Silva,et al.  A review of regulatory decisions for environmental protection: part I - challenges in the implementation of national soil policies. , 2009, Environment international.

[21]  Rolf Katzenbach,et al.  Value Engineering as a basis for safe, optimized and sustainable design of geotechnical structures. , 2015 .

[22]  Shu-Li Huang,et al.  The transition to an urbanizing world and the demand for natural resources , 2010 .

[23]  S. Angulo,et al.  Characterization flowchart for assessing the potential reuse of excavation soils in Sao Paulo city , 2019 .

[24]  Maria Gavrilescu,et al.  Comparing environmental impacts of natural inert and recycled construction and demolition waste processing using LCA , 2013 .

[25]  C. Porras-Amores,et al.  Analysis of Best Practices to Prevent and Manage the Waste Generated in Building Rehabilitation Works , 2019, Sustainability.

[26]  J. Wilding,et al.  Generation rate and fate of surplus soil extracted in New York City. , 2019, The Science of the total environment.

[27]  Maria Eugênia Gimenez Boscov,et al.  Some topics of current practical relevance in environmental geotechnics , 2020 .

[28]  Nilay Shah,et al.  Chapter 18: Urban energy systems , 2012 .

[29]  A new Circular Economy Action Plan: For a cleaner and more competitive Europe , 2020 .

[30]  C Llatas,et al.  A model for quantifying construction waste in projects according to the European waste list. , 2011, Waste management.

[31]  K. Lundberg,et al.  Sustainable management of excavated soil and rock in urban areas – A literature review , 2015 .