Formatted Title:

Beneficial Use of Sediments: Tools, Pilot Sites and Measuring Techniques Developed and Used within Seven European Union Projects

Background/Objectives:

The European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive and EU Waste Framework Directive impacted the beneficial use (BU) of sediments in Europe. INTERREG (an EU co-funding program to share innovative and sustainable solutions to regional development challenges) has supported initiatives to change the perception that sediments are a waste. In this presentation we provide an overview of tools, pilot sites and measuring techniques developed and used for the BU of sediments within seven EU INTERREG projects. We illustrate the lessons learned regarding barriers and enablers for BU of sediments.

Approach/Activities:

BU of sediments depends on a combination of factors. The following technical/legal aspects are considered: 1) the sediment must be suitable for use and be in engineering compliance, and 2) the sediment must meet the end of waste criteria as well as to be in environmental compliance.

When BU use is technical/legally possible, there must be a beneficiary. Either by 3) adding socio-economic value, or by 4) providing ecosystem services. To define these benefits 5) the impact of business as usual (BAU) should also be expressed. Finally, 6) the stakeholder perception and spatial restraints determine areas for BU of sediments with spatial consensus.

The seven INTERREG projects developed publicly available tools for these six aspects and applied them on sediment application pilot sites for demonstration purposes.

Results/Lessons Learned:

The pilots and case studies described in this paper are examples of different applications of sediment BUs in northwest Europe. The scale of these pilots ranged from a few cubic meters (concrete blocks for riverbank erosion protection) up to 200,000 tons of sediment (river reallocation for bank and wetland nourishment). Most can be found at the CEDA website under Beneficial Use of Sediments - Case Studies Site.

The tools, equipment, pilot tests and on-site monitoring techniques developed by the identified INTERREG projects are useful as BU enablers, for both citizens (an enabler is “what is in it for me” versus a barrier like the "not in my back yard [NIMBY]") principle, and for regulators (what are the risks versus benefits as compared to BAU).

The main barriers for BU of sediments are the social acceptance when sediments are used on land (often seen as waste disposal) and the extra direct cost versus the cost for disposal. Indirect benefits, such as the potential for nature development, the impact on gross domestic product (GDP) or more local on the jobs created, are generally not considered. Also, the impact of BAU is often not explicitly considered.

Marco Wensveen

Affiliation

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Beneficial Use of Sediments: Tools, Pilot Sites and Measuring Techniques Developed and Used within Seven European Union Projects