Excavation material – what it is, how it is classified and what applies

Excavation material is soil, stone, gravel, clay and other natural materials dug up during earthworks. It is generated in land development, remediation, road maintenance and certain industrial processes. The category also covers crushed rock, ripped-up asphalt, dredged material, ash and slag.

After processing, much of this material has the potential to be reused in civil works – as fill, noise barriers or foundations. But for that to be allowed, you need to know what the material contains.

Want to understand how to organise and control the mass flow itself in a project? Read our guide to mass handling.

Whether the material counts as waste determines the entire handling. The definition is in chapter 15, section 1 of the Swedish Environmental Code: waste is any substance or object that the holder discards, intends to discard, or is required to discard.

Important: even clean, uncontaminated material can be waste – if you want to get rid of it. Being classified as waste does not mean the material is worthless or must be landfilled. On the contrary: waste material may be recovered for construction purposes, including at a different location than where it was excavated. It requires that the handling follows the rules – but it is a fully legal and encouraged route.

When the material is moved away from where it arose, it is normally regarded as waste and handled accordingly. Excavation material reused at another site is referred to as "waste for construction purposes" ("avfall för anläggningsändamål").

There are situations where excavated material does not have to be assessed as waste at all – for example if it is used on the site where it was dug up, within a reasonable time frame and with a clear purpose. It may then be assessed as a by-product. But where there is uncertainty about when or whether the material will be reused, it is normally regarded as waste.

Before material can be reused, the contamination risk must be assessed. The operator – not the authority – is responsible for the assessment, under chapter 2, section 2 of the Swedish Environmental Code.

The Swedish EPA's Handbook 2010:1 defines three assessment levels:

The assessment is made against both total concentrations and leaching properties. The amount of material and the sensitivity of the site also matter:

• Volume: The assessment level for recovery is governed primarily by contamination risk – not by volume. But for interim storage of the material, separate volume thresholds apply (see the interim storage section below). Large civil works may also be subject to other permit requirements. Always check with the municipal environmental department for larger volumes.
• Location: At sensitive sites – water protection areas, Natura 2000, nature reserves, ancient remains – notification or a permit may be required regardless of the contamination level.

Even if the material is clean and meets every contamination threshold, a so-called 12:6 consultation with the County Administrative Board may still be required. This applies when a measure may significantly alter the natural environment – and depositing or filling with material usually does just that.

The consultation follows from Chapter 12, Section 6 of the Environmental Code (12:6 consultation) and is required for measures not already subject to notification or permit under other rules. Filing is free of charge, but the measure may not begin until at least six weeks after the notification has been submitted. The County Administrative Board may impose precautionary measures or, if the natural environment so requires, prohibit the measure.

Important: the 12:6 consultation requirement applies regardless of whether there is any contamination risk. It concerns impact on the natural environment, not contamination.

Do you need to store the material temporarily before it is recovered or transported further? Special rules then apply. Storing material somewhere other than where it was excavated – or where it will ultimately be used – counts as interim storage.

Volume thresholds for non-hazardous waste (such as clean excavation material)

Volume thresholds for interim storage of non-hazardous waste (such as clean excavation material), calculated as the amount stored at any single point in time:

• Up to 10 tonnes: no notification required.
• More than 10 tonnes: notification to the municipal environmental department.
• The upper notification limit depends on purpose: if the material is to be used for construction or civil works, notification applies up to 30,000 tonnes; for other non-hazardous waste the notification limit is 10,000 tonnes.
• Above the upper limit a permit from the County Administrative Board is required.

Note that the thresholds refer to the amount stored simultaneously, not the total volume passing through the site over time. You can therefore handle more than 10 tonnes in total over a year, as long as the quantity on the site at any given moment stays below the limit.

Time limits

• Material may be stored for at most one year if it is to be disposed of.
• Material may be stored for at most three years if it is to be recovered.

If the time limits are exceeded, the storage is instead treated as landfilling – which requires a permit regardless of volume and is illegal without one. Anyone storing waste must also keep records under the Waste Ordinance: amount, type of waste and how it is handled.

To know how the material should be classified, it usually needs to be sampled. There are exceptions if there is already documentation showing the material is not contaminated, or if it comes from well-known, undisturbed land outside built-up areas (such as forest or meadow land).

How it works in practice:

• Sampling plan: The number of samples depends on volume and risk. For trench works such as district heating, samples are often taken every 25–50 metres depending on the length of the route. For larger areas a sampling plan is drawn up.
• Analysis: An accredited laboratory analyses both total concentrations and leaching properties for relevant substances – metals, PAHs, oils and more.
• Assessment: Results are compared to the guideline values in Handbook 2010:1. If in doubt, consult an environmental consultant or contact the municipal environmental department.

Just as important as sampling is sampling for the right things. Which substances to analyse depends on the site's history. A sampling that misses the relevant contaminants gives a false sense of safety – the material looks clean on paper but is not.

Know the receiver's requirements – before you sample

One of the most common pitfalls in material management: sampling the material before you know where it is going. The problem is that different receiving facilities have different requirements. A sample that is sufficient for recovery in a civil works project may not be enough for a landfill – and vice versa. If you do not know which receiver the material is destined for, the documentation may turn out to be insufficient, and you are forced to re-sample.

The requirements are governed by where the material is going:

• Recovery in civil works is assessed against the Swedish EPA's guidance (Handbook 2010:1) – both content and leaching properties.
• Landfills have their own acceptance criteria that often require more analyses, and the exact requirements are stated in the receiving facility's permit.
• Different types of landfill and recovery have different levels.

Check with the intended receiver early on – many facilities help by stating exactly which analyses they require. This saves both time and a round of sampling.

Total concentration and leaching test – what is the difference?

Two questions determine how the material may be handled, and they answer different things:

• Total concentration tells how much of a substance is in the material. It protects against direct exposure to humans and the environment.
• Leaching test (leaching properties) tells how much of the substance can leach out of the material and spread to water over time. It protects groundwater and surface water.

For recovery in civil works, material is normally assessed against both total concentration and leaching properties. For landfills, a leaching test is usually required, together with other parameters. Exactly which tests are needed – and which test method – depends on the material and on the receiving facility's requirements. If you are unsure, ask the receiver or engage an environmental consultant before you order the analysis, so that you order the right thing from the start.

The right sampling gives you more options

It is easy to see sampling as a cost and an obstacle. But the right sampling is exactly what gives you options. When you know what the material contains and how it leaches, you also know which routes are open: reuse within the project, delivery to different receivers, or recovery at another site.

If you sample too narrowly – only a few parameters – you may unintentionally close doors. The material might have been suitable for more, but without documentation for that it must be handled according to the most expensive assumption, or re-sampled. A well-considered basis from the start keeps more alternatives open and gives you room to negotiate where the material should go.

Once sampling is done, the results need to follow the material all the way – linked to the right delivery and the right receiver. Pinpointer keeps that documentation collected and traceable per load.

Want to estimate volume and number of loads first? Use our excavation material calculator.

Not all material is soil. Demolition and civil works often produce concrete, brick and asphalt that can be recycled – but they are handled somewhat differently from excavation material. Crushed concrete is a sought-after fill material, but it has its own requirements for sorting, sampling and control.

How concrete is recycled

Demolition concrete is crushed and the reinforcement is sorted out, usually with a magnetic separator, and returned to metal recycling. The crushed concrete can then be used as fill in road construction, noise barriers and foundations – or, under certain conditions, as aggregate in new concrete. Recycling concrete reduces the extraction of virgin rock material and the pressure on quarries.

For concrete to be reusable it must be sampled, clean, crushed and free from reinforcement and other demolition waste. Land filling with concrete is primarily relevant in less sensitive areas such as industrial sites and traffic areas.

Contamination risks that differ from soil

Demolition material can carry contaminants that are not found in natural soil. Sampling must therefore be adapted to the history of the material.

Sorting and notification

Construction and demolition waste must by law be sorted so that wood, mineral fractions (concrete, brick, stone), metal, glass, plastic and gypsum are separated. Material containing rubbish or unsorted demolition waste may not be reused until it has been sorted – depositing unsorted material counts as landfilling, which requires a permit.

Use of crushed concrete and broken-up asphalt for construction purposes must generally be notified to the municipality. Broken-up asphalt should primarily be sent to an asphalt plant for recycling.

Just as with excavation material, every load of demolition material needs to be traceable – where it came from, what it contained and where it went. Pinpointer makes that record auditable per delivery.

Once material is to be transported away, additional requirements apply:

• Transport permit: If the material counts as waste, it must be transported by a carrier with the right permit.
• Verification of the receiver: Anyone who hands over or sells waste must to a reasonable extent verify that the receiver has the permits or has made the notifications required. This follows from the Waste Ordinance (chapter 5, section 18) – failure to verify is a legal offence.
• Verify the carrier's permit: Anyone handing over waste for transport is required to verify that the carrier holds a valid permit, under chapter 5 of the Waste Ordinance. The Swedish County Administrative Boards maintain a national register where you can search companies and see their current permits and notifications for waste transport. Handing waste over to a carrier without a permit may constitute an environmental crime. Check waste carriers (the County Administrative Boards' register, in Swedish).
• Hazardous waste: Material classified as hazardous waste (for example coal-tar asphalt with benzo(a)pyrene above 50 mg/kg) may only be transported by an approved carrier and received at an approved facility. The transport must be reported to the Swedish EPA.
• Invasive species: Before excavation, the site should be checked for invasive species, so that material containing for example Japanese knotweed is not spread further.

Read more: guide to invasive species · guide to the new waste legislation

Is material being excavated from an area that is known or suspected to be contaminated? Additional rules then apply on top of the usual ones.

Before work begins

A remediation measure in a contaminated area must be notified to the supervisory authority under Section 28 of the Ordinance on Environmentally Hazardous Activities and Health Protection (FMH), if the measure may entail an increased risk of spread or exposure of contaminants and the risk is not negligible. The notification must be in writing and submitted at least six weeks before work starts. Starting a remediation without notification can lead to an environmental sanction charge or criminal report.

During the work

If contamination not previously known is discovered, work must stop and the supervisory authority must be notified immediately – this follows from the duty of disclosure in chapter 10, section 11 of the Environmental Code.

After completion

When a remediation is complete, a final report (remediation report) must be submitted to the supervisory authority. It must describe the entire project, the objectives and the results achieved – and must account for where the contaminated material was transported and how it was handled.

Regardless of classification, you need to be able to show what has happened to the material – where it came from, what it contained, where it was taken and who received it. That requires documentation per load.

This is where Pinpointer comes in. The platform documents every load automatically: GPS position at loading and unloading, weighed amount, material type, classification and receiver – with a digital weight ticket and photo evidence. In a dispute, an inspection or an environmental report, the entire record is gathered and tamper-evident.