Gone too soon: Rethinking disposal requirements in Federal contracts

GRT recently produced 200 mt of clean washed gravel and 150 mt of clean washed rock (right side of photo) from a federal contaminated site remediation project. Good news story? Not totally.

Because of historical bad players who inadequately treated contamination or illegally dumped excess soils, the federal government does not allow beneficial reuse of most excavated materials, even after treatment and verified re-classification. The government requires permanent, end-of-life disposal at landfills, which is where this gravel and rock went (ouch, right?).

It’s not that the Canadian government doesn’t want to reuse clean and usable materials; they have ambitious goals around waste reduction, green procurement and addressing climate change. Check out PSPC’s own sustainable development strategy here, including their goal to divert 90% of their C&D Waste from landfill.

The National Master Specifications need to be revised so that beneficial reuse is permitted, and circular aggregate economies are encouraged, while protecting the federal government and our environment from risk. GRT looks forward to working with the federal government and other “good players” in the soil treatment world to make these changes in 2022.