Hazardous Soil Disposal Services

Hazardous Soil Testing & Disposal

Our knowledge of the commercial hazardous soil management industry and our partners in multiple industries allow us to provide a convenient and streamlined hazardous soil removal service that will help you cut soil disposal costs, minimise delays to your project and avoid environmental penalties while also reducing your impact on the environment. With options ranging from skip delivery and collection to large grab lorry hire or full muck away services, we can manage the removal of small or large volumes of potentially hazardous waste to suit your needs and can liaise with any relevant third parties to deal with the entire hazardous soil removal process, allowing you to focus on the job at hand.

When waste is produced through business activities (e.g. soil waste from digging foundations), it is important to implement the 'Waste Hierarchy'. This sets out the ways businesses should attempt to minimise waste in order of importance and includes prevention, re-use, recycling, recovery and finally, disposal. Disposal of waste soil to landfill is generally a last resort and should be avoided where possible. However, for hazardous soil, sometimes landfill disposal is the best or only option available and this can be a complicated and time consuming process that needs to be appropriately managed to avoid unnecessary delays, costs and even penalties for illegal hazardous waste disposal.

When Is Testing Needed For Hazardous Soil?

Soil sampling and testing may be needed to identify whether soil proposed for off-site disposal is hazardous, reduce disposal costs by separating hazardous soil from non-hazardous soil or to identify the hazardous properties in a soil waste stream.

Classification - Soil testing will identify whether soils are Hazardous or Non-hazardous, based on waste classification testing, or Inert, Non-reactive Hazardous or Hazardous, based on Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) testing, this will allow you to determine how to manage the soil waste. Testing of potentially hazardous soil is very important as soil classified as hazardous waste must be disposed of accordingly. Accurately classifying your soil waste will also tell you whether you can safely re-use or recycle it and may reduce the amount you have to dispose. If you do still decide to dispose of non-hazardous soil, soil testing can also save you money, by avoiding the expensive hazardous landfill tax.

Separation - Where soil contamination is localised (e.g. oil spillage), testing soil may allow you to separate hazardous soil from non-hazardous soil, potentially enabling re-use or simply avoiding higher soil disposal costs. The small upfront cost of testing soil may save you far greater costs in the future.

Identification - Testing of hazardous soil will allow you to identify the properties of the soil that lead to its hazardous classification. This will allow you to properly dispose of the soil, as some hazardous soil may need to be specially managed and it may even allow you to classify a hazardous soil as non-hazardous, using statistical methods and chemical analysis which will save you costs and allow you to re-use or recycle the soil, if you choose.

Meet Our Hazardous Soil Consultants

Louis Turner, Technical Director - Having graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in Environmental Science, Louis is recognised for his technical leadership and precision in environmental consultancy. Louis provides strategic oversight across all service areas, ensuring projects meet the highest standards of compliance, accuracy, and environmental responsibility. Louis directs contaminated land investigations, from desk-based risk assessments to intrusive site surveys. He ensures soil and ground gas analysis is conducted to UKAS-accredited standards, producing clear, evidence-based reports that support planning applications, regulatory approvals, and safe development decisions.

Joe Turner, Operations Director - Providing practical expertise and a client-focused approach, Joe ensures that every project is delivered quickly, efficiently, and without unnecessary hassle. He has successfully managed a wide variety of project types across the consultancy, bringing a wealth of operational knowledge and a reputation for keeping projects on track. Joe's leadership guarantees a smooth process for clients, from initial enquiry through to final reporting. Joe oversees contaminated land investigations, coordinating desk studies, site surveys, and remediation works. His operational management ensures that soil sampling, ground gas monitoring, and reporting are completed seamlessly, giving clients confidence in compliance and project delivery.

Richard Turner, Director - With over 30 years of experience in site development, he provides invaluable insight into pragmatic solutions that balance costs, practicalities, and client objectives. Richard has a detailed understanding of building regulations and a clear sense of what is and isn't possible on site, making him a trusted advisor for developments of all sizes. Richard applies his site development expertise to contaminated land investigations, ensuring that remediation strategies are practical, cost effective, and achievable on site. His focus on feasibility helps clients move forward with confidence.

Request Hazardous Waste Disposal

Contact us for an informal discussion about your requirements or, if your requirements are more complex, a more formal consultation may be necessary. Following initial consultation we can provide an outline proposal detailing how we can help and the costs involved. If you're looking for more information about our services or our company then complete the below contact form and we will endeavour to respond to your enquiry in a timely manner, alternatively, give us a call on 0800 433 2906 and our experienced consultants can provide actionable advice and guidance.

If you need help or have a question, let us know and we will endeavour to respond same day. By sending this form you agreeing to our Privacy Policy and for the personal data entered above to be saved to allow us to properly respond to your enquiry. Data is not shared with third-parties.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a soil test for removing construction waste? - If you're removing soil waste, produced by business activities (e.g. a groundworks construction company excavating earth for foundations of a building), you will need to determine whether the soil you are removing is hazardous or not, as this will determine how the waste will be disposed of and whether soil could be re-used, avoiding the need for disposal. A waste classification test will be required to measure the levels of potentially toxic heavy metals and hydrocarbons and to classify the waste. If landfill is the chosen destination for your soil waste, leachate analysis will be needed and this is known as a Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) test.

How to classify excavated waste from utilities work? - To dispose of excavated utilities waste, such as material destined for landfill, waste carriers and landfill operators require detailed chemical analysis and accurate classification as either hazardous or non-hazardous. Under the Street Works UK protocol, a desktop risk assessment and site assessment are mandatory before excavation. Materials must be segregated, ensuring bituminous layers and sub-base layers are kept separate. In addition, at least 1% of qualifying excavations must undergo UKAS/MCERTS-accredited laboratory analysis. If the correlation between field and laboratory results falls below 93%, the proportion of samples tested increases to 3%.

What is a waste classification test? - Soil waste classification testing is an essential part of the waste disposal process, as it allows for the accurate classification of waste soil (hazardous or non-hazardous) and ensures appropriate management of waste. If a site is believed to be potentially contaminated, a soil waste classification test will be required prior to disposal of soil waste from site. Soil waste classification testing may save you money by reducing disposal costs, if waste can be classified as non-hazardous, and avoiding potential penalties for wrongly disposing of soil waste.

What is a WAC test? - The Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) sets parameters for different types of waste and determines criteria for waste to be accepted to a particular landfill type (in other words, a WAC test tells you which landfill you can send your waste to). A WAC test will essentially analyse the leaching ability of contaminants in the soil to identify how contaminants will act when in landfill. So, after soil waste has undergone basic characterisation to classify it as non-hazardous or hazardous it can then undergo WAC testing.

References
BSI Group. BS EN 12457-2 - Characterisation of waste. Leaching
Environment Agency. Classify excavated waste from street and utility works: RPS 298
Environment Agency. Land contamination risk management (LCRM)
Environment Agency. Waste Classification: Guidance on the classification and assessment of waste
Street Works UK. Material Classification Protocol