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For many business owners, garden and landscape waste clearance might seem like a straightforward task. After all, it's just grass clippings, leaves and a bit of soil, right? However, at Mark Luck, we understand that even seemingly innocuous soil can pose a significant threat to the environment if not disposed of correctly.
This article, aimed predominantly at commercial property owners and managers, focuses on the critical importance of proper soil disposal within garden waste clearance. We'll explore how soil can become contaminated, the potential environmental and legal consequences of improper disposal and, most importantly, how to ensure your soil is disposed of responsibly and in accordance with relevant regulations.
By understanding the best practices for soil disposal, you can not only safeguard the environment, but also protect your business from costly fines and reputational damage. Let's delve into the critical aspects of soil disposal and ensure your commercial property maintains a pristine landscape whilst minimising your environmental impact.
How Can Soil be Hazardous?
You may be surprised to learn that soil can be considered to be hazardous - after all, it’s an organic material that makes up a large part of the natural landscape. Not only that, but if trees, plants and other vegetation can grow in it, can it really be that unsafe?
The answer is yes. Whilst it’s true that soil is an organic material, it’s human activity and involvement that can lead to it becoming classified as hazardous. It all comes down to its chemical properties and how it behaves in the environment. For example, there are certain contaminants that can affect the safety of soil, including:
● Pesticides: These chemicals are designed to kill or control pests, but they can leach into the soil and contaminate groundwater, harming plant and animal life.
● Heavy metals: Such as lead, arsenic and mercury, heavy metals can accumulate in the soil over time and pose a significant risk to human and environmental health - many of these have been shown to be carcinogenic.
● Organic chemicals: These include petroleum products, solvents and industrial chemicals.
● Microplastics: These tiny plastic particles can accumulate in soil, impacting soil health and potentially entering the food chain.
● Radionuclides: Radionuclides are radioactive substances that can contaminate soil and pose a significant risk to human health due to their potential for radiation exposure.
Of course, whether or not soil is contaminated depends heavily on location, as it is often surrounding factors that lead to contamination occurring.
What Causes Soil to Become Contaminated?
As we previously mentioned, soil contamination is often a result of human activity - whether intentional or not. Contamination occurs when hazardous substances (such as those previously mentioned) either migrate into the soil, or are spilled or buried into it.
For example, common ways in which this can happen can include:
● Improper substance disposal
● Use of harmful pesticides and fertilisers in agricultural fields
● Chemical and waste spillages and leaks
● Corrosion of underground storage tanks (e.g. cesspits or septic tanks)
The Effects of Contaminated Soil On Human and Environmental Health
Human Health
There are a number of health risks contaminated soil poses to humans; but, before we discuss the what, let us first discuss the how.
Water runoff can carry a variety of pollutants from contaminated soil to local waterways, causing these to become polluted. It can also deposit contaminants onto other, uncontaminated soils, causing these to now become contaminated, also.
When humans then come into contact with such water or soil (for example, swimming in contaminated waters, eating vegetables that were grown in contaminated soil or even inhaling or ingesting dust blown up from contaminated soils), they are likely to face the associated health consequences.
As for what these health consequences are, they can include:
● Skin diseases: Physical contact with contaminated soil can cause skin irritation that can even result in certain skin diseases, such as dermatitis, hives or acne.
● Cancer: As previously stated, many of the contaminants found within polluted soil are carcinogenic, so interaction with these can increase a person’s risk of developing cancer.
● Antimicrobial resistance: There are certain antibiotic microorganisms found in some wastewater sludges and animal manures that may be found in contaminated soil that can lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance genes. The issue with this is that it can increase human resistance to antimicrobial pharmaceuticals, which are important for treating and preventing certain infectious diseases.
● General health issues: There are a number of other, general health issues that can arise as a result from soil contamination, such as headaches, fatigue and nausea.
Environmental Health
It’s not just the health of humans that is affected by soil contamination, but the environment is also impacted.
Some of the negative environmental impacts it can have include:
● Water contamination: Contaminants in polluted soil can seep into the groundwater underneath it, which may then be absorbed by plants through their roots or drunk by animals. This can lead to both plants developing diseases and animals contracting serious illnesses.
● Viability: Soil pollution can reduce the soil’s ability to support crop and vegetation growth, resulting in either crop contamination and disease or even non-arable land.
● Loss of biodiversity: There are a number of organisms that live within and rely on soil for their habitat and nutrient sources, however contamination can eliminate the more sensitive of these species, which in turn can lead to reduced food sources for other animals. This ultimately can reduce the overall biodiversity of the land.
● Reduced ecosystem productivity: As a result of this loss of biodiversity, the productivity of the local natural ecosystem may also reduce.
The Regulations Surrounding Hazardous Soil Waste
Soil Waste Classification Test
Now that you know a bit more about the effects of contaminated soil, it should come as no surprise that certain regulations must be adhered to when it comes to disposing of it. One of the things that must be carried out, then, is a soil classification test.
A soil classification test involves a chemical analysis of the soil, identifying any contaminants that are present in order to determine whether it should be classed as hazardous or non-hazardous. This test is important for determining whether or not soil waste (often that produced at construction sites or development projects) is suitable to go to landfill.
It’s essential that any waste soil undergoes a waste classification test before being disposed of, as failing to accurately classify the waste (or purposefully classifying it falsely) can lead to fines and prosecution from the Environment Agency.
Proper Disposal
Upon classifying your soil waste, the next step is knowing the appropriate disposal options.
Non-Hazardous Soil
There are various options for disposing of non-hazardous soil. The first is to reuse it; soil can easily be reused in other construction and landscaping projects, whether it be used as topsoil or used to fill in excavated areas. If you have no use for your soil waste, then rather reusing it yourself, you can donate it to local farms or traders to reuse instead.
The next option is to recycle it. Soil can be recycled for use in various industrial projects. The process often involves screening, washing and testing. Although, once recycled, soil may not be as viable for planting purposes.
Lastly, waste soil can also be taken to landfill. Each landfill site will have its own criteria for the type of waste that it can accept, so if soil is disposed of in this way, then it’s important that it is taken to a landfill site that is authorised to carry this type of waste.
Hazardous Soil
As for hazardous soil, often the only or best option available is to take it to landfill. However, it must only be taken to a landfill site that is licensed to hold this type of hazardous waste (such as ones that use containment features).
There are, however, often options for contaminated soil to be treated at certain treatment facilities. In fact, some licensed landfill sites even require contaminated soil to first be treated at one of these before they can accept the waste.
These facilities might include treatments such as:
● Bioremediation
● Soil washing
● Thermal treatment
● Phytroremediation
Waste Management You Can Rely On
As you can see, there’s more that goes into the management and disposal of soil waste than you first might expect. As such, it’s important to work with a reliable and professional waste management company that you can rely on when disposing of your soil and/or construction waste - such as us here at Mark Luck.
Not only do we have over 90 years of experience under our belt, but we’re proud to be registered carriers of waste with the Environment Agency. This means you can rest assured that, when working with us, your waste will be disposed of in line with all the necessary regulations.
To enquire about our waste away services or learn more about how we can support your needs, then don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.
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