Latest figures (from 2005) show that there may be at least sixty thousand hectares of previously developed land in England alone, and regeneration of this land often requires soils for final landscaping. The Brownfield Programme supported a number of Trailblazer projects across the UK in which quality compost was applied to brownfield land.
Rather than rely solely on natural topsoils, the Brownfield Team worked closely with soil scientists, developers and major land owners to encourage improvement of existing low quality soils with compost or to combine soil forming materials with compost to make new topsoils. Soil forming materials within the current Trailblazer programme include glacial drift (and other subsoils), colliery shales, hard rock overburden, iron and steel furnace slags, and dredgings.
Using quality compost in this way offers a number of cost saving opportunities for the regeneration industry. By removing the need to excavate and dispose of poor quality soil, projects are reducing the amount of waste they send to landfill and saving on the costs of waste disposal. Projects are also achieving cost benefits by avoiding the need to purchase new topsoil.
The Brownfield Team also worked closely with the British Standards Institution in the re-drafting of the Specification for topsoil (BS3882) and associated documents, to improve uptake of recycled mineral and organic materials.
For more information, please contact:
Paul Mathers (Programme Manager, Landscape & Regeneration) paul.mathers@wrap.org.uk, or
Katherine Church (Project Officer, Landscape & Regeneration) – katherine.church@wrap.org.uk
Brownfield project summary 
View the Brownfield project summary for more information.
Financial benefits of compost in landscaping and regeneration
The use of quality compost in landscaping and regeneration projects is not just an example of environmental good practice it also provides an opportunity to make significant cost savings.
