From Construction Site to Farm: Repurposing Excavated Soil for Agriculture
On the construction site of the new Tours University Hospital, 250,000 tons of excavated material have found a second life. Three local farmers have welcomed this urban soil onto their farms, where it has been given a green makeover after undergoing agronomic testing.
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Every year, the construction industry generates enormous quantities of waste. Among this, excavated soil represents more than 150 million tons. This resource, which could be of agronomic interest in agriculture, often remains untapped.
Nathaniel Beaumal, founder of Terra Innova, a company whose mission is to bridge the gap between the construction and agricultural sectors, wants to reverse the trend: “To ensure that this land has agricultural potential, we take samples on-site and, in our laboratory, we recreate the different substrates that we can offer to farmers to determine which will be the most effective.”
The soil will be used, in particular, to improve the soil's water retention capacity during droughts and/or to increase its fertility. But before it is moved to the fields, the soil is meticulously sorted on-site to ensure it does not contain pollutants such as asbestos or excessive amounts of stones.
This crucial selection, carried out by the company in charge of the earthworks, is a complex task, but one that proves worthwhile. “Traditional landfill disposal is more expensive.” “We’re going further, making more truck trips… In comparison, we can talk about savings of 40 to 50% for a project worth one and a half million euros,” emphasizes David Girard, Deputy Regional Director of NGE-BTP in charge of the earthworks for the Tours hospital.
But the key to reusing excavated soil is finding farmers near the construction sites who are willing to accept it. This isn’t always easy, especially since this practice, which is still poorly regulated, can lead to abuses by construction companies primarily seeking a way to dispose of their contaminated soil.
While not all excavated soil can be used for agriculture, particularly due to the distance between construction sites and rural areas, this solution could become one of the possible avenues for its recycling.