Cirkulär hantering av förorenade massor. Utveckling av metod för ökad återvinning

Övrigt - Report, 2020

Land development, land remediation and infrastructure projects deal with large quantities of contaminated soil masses. Only a small part of the masses is recycled after treatment and a large part is deposited. At the same time, large quantities of new soil and rock materials must be quarried for construction work. An increased recycling of contaminated masses that is environmentally sound and safe from a human health perspective would make an important contribution to the improved resource management that characterizes a circular economy. This would lead to reduced transports, reduced volumes of deposited waste and a more sustainable management of contaminated masses.

The project has analyzed various instruments in society with a view to examining the obstacles and opportunities for increased recycling of contaminated soil masses. The socio-economic benefits to society with an increased recovery of contaminated soil masses have been described in general terms. A method has been developed to provide different actors with a tool for classifying the suitability of soil masses for environmentally- and health-safe reuse. Such a method provides greater competitiveness of entrepreneurs with the ability and knowledge to carry out such recycling.

The overall conclusion of this work is that there are significant potential socio-economic benefits from an increased recovery of contaminated soil masses. Several possible measures have been identified that could be useful to lead to an increase in the recovery of contaminated soil slabs in society:
• Better adaptation of the environmental quality requirements of soil masses to the actual land use of the area where recycled masses can be potentially used
• Reduced administration for using recycled masses
• Increase the allowed storage time before disposal
• Increase the requirements for treatment of masses before disposal
• Introduce taxes on masses that are possible to pre-treat before disposal
• Introduce landfill tax and increase landfill fees for inert soil masses
• Increased on-site treatment (in situ and ex situ)
• Introduce more innovative procurement and choice between execution or turnkey contracting
• Calculate key figures for the recycling of contaminated soil masses
• Develop and apply a standardized and well-founded classification of different the environmental and technological potential of masses for recycling. A proposed method has been developed and described in this study.

Recycling of soil masses thus requires consideration of a variety of factors. The focus of the classification methodology developed here is on the environmental and technical characteristics of the soil mass. However, as described above, for the soil mass to be recycled also conditions other than the environmental and technical characteristics of the masses need to be fulfilled. We therefore propose that the classification of soil masses be seen as part of a step-by-step process in which different actors in society must act in order for increased recycling to be possible. We propose that the step-by-step process of circular management of contaminated masses, as well as for other types of waste, should, as far as possible, be based on the so-called “waste hierarchy”. In order to promote an increased degree of recycling, some efforts have been proposed that different actors can implement within the different levels of the waste hierarchy. It has not been possible to carry out a full analysis of opportunities for the various actors, but the proposals should be seen as a basis for a further development.