earthresQue - Centre for Rescue of Earth Materials and Waste in the Circular Economy

More than 75% of the deposited materials in Norway consists of contaminated soil, construction and demolition waste, slag and ash. In addition, large quantities of clean surplus masses, such as soil, crushed stone and rock end up in landfills. This is a waste of valuable resources, areas, and landfill volume. The aim of SFI earthresQue is to develop technologies, solutions, value chains and a regulatory framework for a more sustainable handling and treatment of waste and surplus masses. This requires an interdisciplinary approach. earthresQue will create innovation through research initiated by the needs of private and public user partners in construction and waste management. The center has 25 user partners presenting various parts of the value chain. These collaborate closely through specific cases with researchers and fellows from eight different educational and research institutions. Development of new technologies and improvements of regulatory and economic framework conditions are necessary to ensure a more sustainable handling of surplus masses and waste. Expected innovations include methods for sorting out valuable material from waste, new treatment processes for contaminated soil and technology for making new raw materials and products from surplus masses. Better solutions for controlling and cleaning landfill leachate and new methods for monitoring and reducing gas leaks from landfills. System innovations that can be expected from the project include new economic criteria and tax rules to ensure sustainable business models and a circular waste sector. Other expected results are new tools for environmental documentation of technical solutions, in addition to recycled surplus materials and waste. SFI earthresQue is a significant boost for research, knowledge development and innovation for a more circular use of earth material resources and land. Barriers that prevent recycling and utilization are identified by a PhD student through structured interviews with user partners and mapping current practices. This primarily concerns institutional and business barriers, as well as missing standards for Best Practice. The center and associated PhD candidate carry out experiments to find ways to reuse concrete from demolition projects. This work is also linked to activities related to new solutions, including the use of concrete, to prevent acid draining from rocks. These trials show promising results. The trials take place at the study sites NOAH Langøya and Lindum Oredalen. Experiments also include long-term studies of black shale and monitoring of acid formation and the effect of treatment. Furthermore, several PhD scholars in the center have a focus on treatment of PFAS-contaminated soil and water, which constitutes another major societal challenge. We are also in the process of developing methods to ensure a good assessment of locations for new landfills, e.g. in disused quarries. The natural geological barrier sould have extremely low hydraulic conductivity to prevent water and pollution transport in the fracture network systems. Through a PhD project innovative methods for mapping and modeling flow in fractured rock as a geological barrier is being investigated, Rekefjord is one of our case sites. At Kjørbekk in Skien we have carried out investigations, both geophysical and gas emission measurements, to map the distribution of landfilled masses and transport routes for pollution. This will guide measures to improve the situation. New and improved solutions for the treatment of landfill leachate is another topic that the center is working on. Improved methods for monitoring and leachate treatment, are studied by two PhD candidates.The work in the center has been presented nationally and internationally to researchers and user partners. The center has established close collaboration also outside the centre, through the reference group including Norwegian Waste Management and Recycling Association, the Norwegian Environment Agency and others. At NMBU and BI, study programs are adapted to provide candidates with relevant competence demanded by our user partners.

Our society is generating excess earth-materials and waste at an ever-increasing rate. Currently no sustainable ways of handling excess earth materials and wastes are available, and we lack suited localities for their storage. These materials should be recycled, upcycled or reused in infrastructure/construction projects, instead of virgin raw materials. New innovations to strengthen the market for recycled raw materials are needed. The earthresQue centre will create an innovative environment through long-term cooperation between stakeholders (municipalities, NGOs and citizen groups), innovation-oriented R&D-performing companies (waste management companies and contractors) and prominent research groups working in relevant disciplines from natural sciences to socio-economical sciences. The centre will establish an outstanding industry-oriented research cluster building on an international network enhancing the internationalization of the Norwegian business sector. Ensure researcher training and the transfer of knowledge and technology in areas with major potential for future value creation. This is achieved through 3 technical workpackages: WP1. Reuse Technology; WP 2. Sustainable reuse; 3. Regulatory framework in addition to an extensive outreach and dissemination activity. The research work is centred around 8 case studies in close collaboration with 25 user group partners addressing the following research questions: How can new treatment processes for earth material wastes be developed to make these suitable as raw materials in new products? How can waste materials be managed in a sustainable manner, including all aspects of environmental, social and economic aspects? Including the management of old and future landfills. How can current obstacles for reuse be removed both in economic, regulatory, and governance terms? This includes business concepts to encompass society’s need for more reuse/-cycling and less use of virgin earth materials