Low input remediation techniques for contaminated site management

Risk-based land management emphasises remediation to manage risks from land contamination, aiming to reduce human and environmental risks while enabling site reuse and redevelopment. Since the mid-2000s, sustainable remediation has gained prominence, driven by global sustainability agendas such as the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the European Green Deal. These frameworks encourage integrated approaches that maximise remediation benefits and minimise negative impacts. Low-input remediation techniques (LIRT) represent a family of approaches characterised by lower energy and resource demands, often leveraging natural processes, renewable resources, or energy sources. Examples include methods using biochar, photosynthesis, or renewable energy systems. LIRT overlap with concepts like gentle remediation options (GRO) and nature-based solutions (NBS), which employ natural processes to address contamination while delivering environmental and societal benefits. While LIRT are typically effective for pathway management rather than source control, they offer sustainable outcomes such as stabilisation, containment, and destruction of biodegradable contaminants. They also contribute to broader sustainability goals, such as reducing carbon footprints and preserving soil functionality, and can support site reuse for biofeedstocks, habitats, or amenity spaces. LIRT are particularly valuable for stalled or economically unviable sites, offering cost-effective and flexible solutions. However, achieving sustainable outcomes depends on site-specific factors, and LIRT often work best when integrated into a broader remedial strategy combining intensive and low-input methods. This paper explores LIRT's potential applications, technical characteristics, and challenges, alongside their benefits for sustainable land management and the restoration of underutilised sites.

Descrição

This paper is based on three projects: GEF China Contaminated Site Management Project under contract number FECO/LV3/S/20/203 for the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Centre (FECO) of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) PR China. The Horizon Europe Islandr Project, funded by the European Union (under Grant Agreement 101112889), UKRI and the Swiss Government. The H2020 EiCLaR project under grant agreement No. -----.” https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/965945 from the National Natural Science Foundation of China http://www.nsfc.gov.cn. This research is anchored at RESOLUTION LAB, an infrastructure at NOVA School of Science and Technology. A. Cundy acknowledges support from the SURRI project (Horizon Europe project 101079345). The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reject those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency (REA), FECO MEE or other funders. None of these organisations can be held responsible for them. The authors would like to express their gratitude to Helen McLennan for assisting with the preparation of this document for publication. Publisher Copyright: This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2026

Palavras-chave

Environmental Engineering Environmental Chemistry Water Science and Technology Pollution SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy SDG 15 - Life on Land

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10362/204382

DOI

10.1039/d5va00242g

Coleções

Home collection (FCT)

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