Nick Willenbrock, DoW CoP Manager at CL:AIRE Currently Nicholas leads the delivery of industry initiatives, produces industry guidance, organising workshops and develops and delivers training (online and classroom based). Most notably this includes the CL:AIRE Definition of Waste Development Industry Code of Practice (DoW CoP) which he has managed since its formation and launch in 2008 and has allowed the successful reuse of over 130,000,000m3 of excavated materials. His work includes the formation and oversight of CL:AIRE Auditing & Compliance team which carries out continuous review of DoW CoP projects. He is responsible for the joint delivery of the ReCon Soil research project - Reconstructed Soils from Waste. The ReCon Soil project which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund via the Interreg France (Channel) England (FCE) Programme.

1. DoW CoP
Sustainable Reuse of Soils
A Initiative
If you could wave a magic wand and get what you wanted what would
DoW CoP version 4 contain?
What could a UK Grondbank look like?

2. ECJ & UK Rulings

4. "Muck Away"
UK Recycling
and other
recovery
Backfilling Landfill
All waste -
2016 103.9 16.8 52.3
2018 108.4 14.2 50.8
Change 4.3% -15.8% -2.8%
million tonnes and % change
Waste material
Mineral
wastes
55% 6% 6%
Soils 12% = 13m t 90% = 12.8 m t 58% = 29.5m t
Dredging
spoils
0% 1% 0%
• How much soil is going to LF?

5. Muck?

6. Soil Organic Carbon pool stores est. 1,500,000 megatons C in the first meter of soil > carbon contained in the
atmosphere (~ 800,000 megatons) & terrestrial vegetation (500,000 megatons) combined (FAO and ITPS,
2015)
In the first three meters of the soils an even larger carbon mass of up to 2,344,000 megatons C are estimated.
Emissions from the
aviation sector, soil carbon
stocks and the potential of
soil carbon sequestration
to offset carbon.
(UN FAO - Soils Potential to
Contribute to Offset Int’l
Aviation Emissions 2017)
Still Muck?

7. “The time needed to form a soil depends on the latitude:
• in environments characterized by a mild climate, it takes 200-400 years to form 1 cm of soil
• in wet tropical areas soil formation is faster, as it takes 200 years
• in order to accumulate enough substances to make a soil fertile it takes 3000 years.”
http://www.eniscuola.net/en/argomento/soil/soil-formation/how-long-does-it-take-to-form/
Soil Value
“Essentially, soil can be considered as a non-renewable resource,
as the formation of topsoil and the recovery of soil (and
groundwater) quality are extremely slow processes. ...It should be
acknowledged here that soil is a scarce natural resources and an
inseparable part of the soil-water-sediment-system.”
A.M. Breure et al. Science of the Total Environment 624 (2018)
1125-1130
“Buy land, they
aren't making it anymore.”
Mark Twain

8. SITE
REDEVELOPED
CYCLE
COMPLETED WITH
DoW CoP
CONSTRUCTION
Is the tide is turning?
• Env. Bill – finally calls for soil focus
• UN FAO – increased focus
• NPPF - Sustainability
• Net biodiversity gain
• Carbon accounting

9. E7 Healthy soils
Short description
Healthy soils underpin the multiple functions of soils in food
production, supporting wildlife, regulating water and regulating
climate. More work is being done to define exactly what the indicator
will include but it could include physical properties (such as a measure
of soil structure), chemical properties (such as soil carbon, nutrients
and pH), bare ground / soil and a measure of soil biological activity.
This indicator is not limited to agricultural soils.
Further development of statistically and scientifically robust national
monitoring programmes may be needed to provide data for this
indicator.
Relevant target in the 25 Year Environment Plan
• Improving our approach to soil management: by 2030 we want all of
England’s soils to be managed sustainably, and we will use natural
capital thinking to develop appropriate soil metrics and management
approaches
Readiness and links to data
This indicator is not available for reporting in 2021 as significant
further development work is required. Some data on aspects of soil
health are already published but they do not provide a full baseline.
J2 Raw material consumption
Short description
This indicator shows trends in the amount of raw material consumption
(RMC) per capita and (b) the amount of gross value added (GVA) per unit
of raw material consumption.
These measures give a proxy for the scale of our environmental impact
associated with our material consumption, while helping identify how
efficiently natural resources are being used and the extent to which
economic output is being decoupled from consumption of materials.
Relevant goals in the 25 Year Environment Plan
• Using resources from nature more sustainably and efficiently •
Mitigating and adapting to climate change
Relevant target in the 25 Year Environment Plan
• Maximising the value and benefits we get from our resources, doubling
resource productivity by 2050
Position in the natural capital framework
Pressure on natural capital assets
Related reporting commitments
• Links to the UN Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 12 Geographical
scope
England
Status of indicator development
Final
Outcome Indicator Framework for the 25 Year Environment
Plan: 2021 Update June 2021

10. Glass
2021 £ per tonne (used
containers - jars and
bottles ex works)
Aug
Brown 12 - 18
Clear 14 - 19
Green 1 - 9
Mixed 8 - 16
MRF glass -25 - 0
Plastics
Plastic bottles and PTT
prices £ per tonne 2021
August
Clear and light blue PET 300 - 350
Coloured PET -30 - 20
HDPE natural 520 - 600
HDPE mixed colour 300 - 345
Mixed bottles 120 - 160
PTT - Pots, Tubs and Trays 10 - 50
Note: PTT - pots, tubs and
trays - price indicators
were introduced in May
2020.
Metals
2021 £ per tonne August
Dry bright wire 6100
Heavy copper 5500
No 2 copper wire 5400
Braziery copper 4800
Insulated copper cable 1850
Brass cuttings 3300
Brass swarf 3000
Brass and copper radiators 2900
Mixed brass 3100
Heavy brass 3400
Gunmetal 4100
Pure aluminium cuttings 1000
Aluminium alloy cuttings 980
Old rolled aluminium 800
Clean cast aluminium 900
Aluminium turnings 550
Aluminium foil 260
Lead scrap 1200
Batteries 430
Zinc mixed scrap 800
Zinc cuttings 900
18-8 stainless steel solids 1200
Paper
2021 £ per tonne ex works August
Mixed papers* 75 - 105
Old KLS (cardboard) 125 - 143
News and pams 125 - 145
Over-issue news 150 - 163
Sorted office waste 175 - 195
Multigrade 185 - 195
Light letter 190 - 200
White letter 220 - 230
?
Why so negative?

11. What have we achieved? The Good, the bad and the Ugly.
DECLARATIONS = 8,300
# QUALIFIED
PERSONS =
210 MATERIALS
= 140,017,958 m3
Strengths:
• Desk Top Study & SI Reports are often detailed and align well with relevant
industry guidance;
• Good response times from QPs and Project Teams e.g. project documents
submitted within 21 days time frame; and
• All required documentation at the first request.
Weaknesses:
• MMPs brief, lacking detail - not a plan :
• Brief MMPs;
• Multiple revisions to the MMP - difficult to follow
• No references or summaries for clauses in contracts e.g. Qs 21a - 21d of
the MMP;
• Limited evidence of inspection / acceptance procedures;
• Brief tracking systems - not containing the requirements of para 3.12 of
the DoW;
• Confusion - Verification Planning and Reporting. Brief Verification Plans;
• Contingency arrangements lacking detail.

12. • Lead – don’t wait for the Regulator.
• Best practice, not average or what we’ve
always just done. Case Studies!
• Digitise – Construction & Agri = “lol”
• Tracking
• DoW CoP isn’t always easy.
• Ensure high standards at all times – help
the QPs
• Assessing competence - User
Registration?
Sort our own house

13. Applications for reconstructed soils
To ensure the long-term
sustainability of reconstructed
soils, appropriate recipes will be
needed that account for the
required soil properties for the
intended application, whilst also
giving due consideration to local
material availability.
Reconstructing soils from waste: Developing a protocol for improved soil
sustainability and carbon off-setting
H.K. Schofield, B.J. Reid, N. Willenbrock, M. Guerret and M.F. Fitzsimons
Acknowledgements and References
With thanks to our funders: ERDF Interreg Channel-Manche.
[1] FAO and UNEP. 2021. Global Assessment of Soil Pollution: Report. [2] Bispo et al. (2017). Front. Environ. Sci., 5, 41. [3] Sanderman
et al. (2018). PNAS, 115(7), E1700. [4] Deng et al. (2016). GECCO., 5, 127. [5] WRAP (2019). Project report RCY111-004. [6] DEFRA
(2021).UK statistics on waste. [7] UK HMRC (2021). Changes to landfill tax rates from 1 April 2021. [8] Schofield et al. (2019) Sci. Total
Environ., 690, 1228-1236. [9] Royal Society (2018) GGR report.
Reconstructed soil components
Inorganic
components
Organic
components
Mixed
components
• Aggregate (e.g.
gravel, sand,
clay)
• Fly ash
• Volcanic rock
(e.g. basalt,
perlite, tuff)
• Composted
green waste
• Wood substrate
• Composted bark
• Manure
• Natural soils
• Biosolids
• Dredged
sediments
• Biochar
Summary of barriers and challenges
• Regulatory
• Organisational practices
• Materials quality
• Public perception
• Logistical and economic challenges
Reconstructed soils from waste (ReCon Soil)
Soils constructed from waste materials have already been demonstrated to be capable of supporting plant growth
and nutrient cycling [8]
.
The ReCon Soil project aims to:
1)Reduce the quantity of soils sent to landfill by the construction sector using a circular economy approach,
2)Reduce pressure on natural soils and their associated carbon stocks through the development application-specific
soil ‘recipes’ to reduce the need for translocation of natural soils.
3)Contribute to increased soil carbon capture through the incorporation of components capable of long-term
carbon storage.
Example uses for reconstructed soils:
• Landscaping soils
• Structural/engineering soils
• Recreational facilities
• Land restoration and rehabilitation
• Controlled growing facilities
Fig 2. Example soil constituents.
Fig 1. Established reconstructed soil at the Eden Project, Cornwall, UK.