Waste & Resources Action Programme are launching a ‘trailblazer’ quarry site, the first in Britain to use high quality compost to restore brownfield land.
The site, at Lafarge Cement’s Dunbar Works in East Lothian, will use 2,000 tonnes of BSI PAS 100: 2005 compost in a former quarrying area, to restore and improve the soil for the growth of woodland and grazing areas.
The conditions at Dunbar have made the quarry an ideal trial site to investigate the benefits of mixing high quality compost with existing soil forming materials to improve soil condition.
The project is a Scottish collaboration, with the compost being sourced from Scottish Water Waste Services in Deerdykes, near Glasgow and Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) providing scientific advice for the site. The project, which started in November 2006, is due for completion in November 2007, with a full evaluation taking place over several years.
“This Scottish trailblazer project will determine the benefits of the use of compost in restoring quarried land,” WRAP commented, “which will hopefully set an example for other firms in the quarrying industry to follow.”
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