The plan includes adding blends of quality compost made from green and food wastes mixed with varying quantities of quarry waste, which means that there is no additional need to import expensive topsoil to the site.
“Making use of quality compost and bio-fertiliser makes good environmental and business sense,? said WRAP project manager Lance Jones. ?Firstly, it means that food waste that would have ended up in landfill can be manufactured into a product that is fit for purpose in land restoration. It can also substitute the need for importing costly, and scarce, topsoil.
“This and other projects have shown that blending quarry waste with PAS 100 quality compost and PAS 110 bio-fertiliser can successfully restore quarry sites.?
According to engineering consultancy Wardell Armstrong, appointed to carry out the project, the combination of topsoil and green compost will mean considerable savings in costs, especially where quarry operators do not have ample suitable growing medium at their sites.
The first year of tests have demonstrated vast improvements in the soil conditions of the restored area. The section produced grassland as well as a variety of plants found naturally in the area.
Traditionally operators used left over soils on site, but often found that the soil lost its nutrient content and overall structure.
Source: Waste Management World