Management of excavated earth: context, characterisation and recovery
Civil engineering earthworks often generate large quantities of excavated earth that need to be disposed of off-site. There are a number of issues involved in managing this earth:
- an economic issue: their management can lead to an additional cost that affects the financial balance of the project, depending on the volume involved but also on the earth’s chemical and geotechnical characteristics;
- a logistical challenge: except in special cases, the excavated earth is mainly transported by lorries, which have limited capacity and whose cost increases the greater the distance they have to travel;
- an environmental issue: excavated earth accounts for the largest volume of waste in the building and public works sector, and its recovery is essential if France is to recover 70% of waste from this sector, which has been its target since 2020.
This technical information day will include presentations on:
- the latest regulatory developments governing the traceability of excavated earth;
- R&D approaches and projects for recycling excavated earth, including new ways of rehabilitating urban land;
- feedback on the management of excavated earth by various companies;
- laboratories and equipment for studying excavated earth (PRIME and MODULAB).
Agenda
9 am - Registration of participants
9.30 am - Overview of the day - Philippe Rocher, SIM
9.35 am - General introductory presentation
- Regulatory framework and definitions - Samuel Coussy, BRGM
- The national register of waste, excavated earth and sediments (RNDTS - Registre National des Déchets, terres excavées et Sédiments) - Virginie Vincenti, BRGM
- Methodological guidebook for the off-site recovery of excavated earth - Noémie Dubrac, BRGM
10.35 am - Question and answer session
10.55 am - Break
11.15 am - Operational and R&D feedback on the recovery of excavated earth
- Recovering excavated earth to build fertile soils: from R&D to operational research - Samuel Coussy, BRGM
- Treating excavated earth with hydraulic binders and lime - Laurent Kopp, TP Concept
- Feedback from a quarry and recycling platform operator - Alexandre Favin, EUROVIA
- The point of view of a national trade federation concerning its "decarbonisation" roadmap - Didier Collonge, UNPG
12.30 am - Question and answer session
1 pm - Buffet lunch
2 pm - Visit to PRIME (platform for remediation and innovation in environmental metrology) and MODULAB (mobile laboratory) - Clément Zornig, BRGM
3 pm - Presentation of the data centre managing the RNDTS - Luc Santeramo, BRGM
3.30 pm - Summary of discussions and conclusion - Samuel Coussy, BRGM and Philippe Rocher, SIM
