Viewing soil as a resource, not a waste

Healthy soil nurtures life, preserves ecosystems, and helps our natural world flourish – but in Aotearoa New Zealand, we continue to treat it like waste.

Soil from construction, developments, and earthworks is often sent to landfill, with more than 4.5 million tonnes of soil estimated to end up in landfills and cleanfills every year.

Ahead of World Soil Day (Thursday, 5 December) WasteMINZ has released a white paper urging the government to support the development and implementation of a framework to optimise soil reuse.

Lead white paper author, Rod Lidgard, said current soil practices cost New Zealand billions annually, due to landfill disposal, lost landfill capacity, and increased infrastructure pressure.

“In Aotearoa New Zealand we don’t have the facilities, mechanisms, legislation or infrastructure to enable soil reuse,” Rod said.

“This is a problem for all types of development and infrastructure projects – from your small residential builds through to large transport projects, and anywhere in between.”

Rod said there were many reasons why soil was sent straight to landfill, such as lack of available space on the project site, perceived liability concerns, advice from consultants, regulatory interpretation/requirements, risk of construction programme delay, and geotechnical and ground contamination constraints.

However, the inefficient use of soil costs New Zealanders billions more in emissions from cartage and disposal, losses of landfill airspace, valuable soil resources, and increased pressure on roading networks.

“There is a clear need for a comprehensive soil management framework to promote the beneficial reuse of soils, especially in urban development.

“A framework for soil reuse has support from not just the waste and contaminated land industries, but also civil works, local government and industry bodies.”

At a very high level, a framework would include guidance on what alternatives to landfilling are available, exploring what types of sites can be used for soil reuse, and the centralised controls and management required.

“The aim of this framework is to secure a sustainable future for New Zealand’s soil resources by all sectors and levels of government working together on a solution.”

Read the white paper here.