Circular soil handling applies circular economy principles to soil management in urban development, redevelopment, construction and infrastructure projects. It aims to reduce unnecessary excavation, maximise the on-site and local reuse of excavated soil, and minimise disposal, transport and demand for virgin materials. It combines early soil assessment, soil balance, reuse planning and coordination between actors to keep soil in productive use for landscaping, drainage, backfilling and other applications.
Recommendations for Implementation
Circular soil handling is implemented through a sequence of measures beginning before excavation.
- Project design and construction methods should first be adapted to minimise soil disturbance, stripping and excavation and to retain existing soils where technically and environmentally feasible.
- Early geological, geotechnical and environmental investigations should then characterise soil types, quantities, physical and chemical properties and contamination levels.
- During excavation, soils should be separated into distinct material streams according to their quality and potential reuse pathways and maintained under appropriate storage and traceability conditions.
- A soil balance is prepared to match excavated soil quantities and qualities with potential reuse applications, prioritising on-site reuse and subsequently reuse in nearby projects or designated soil depots.
- Where direct reuse is not feasible, appropriate treatment, screening, stabilisation, blending or amendment can be used to improve reuse potential, subject to environmental and technical requirements. At a wider territorial scale, soil flows can be connected with organic and biomass residues to develop circular soil-material chains producing soil improvers, constructed soils or non-food biomass.
Examples enhancing soil health
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Planning examples
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Technical guides and inspiring research
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