Veolia and Ventia open EarthSure’s soil washing plant to turn contaminated soil into a resource for Victoria’s environmental security

Veolia and Ventia open a soil washing plant that can clean up to 160,000 tonnes of contaminated soil per year, removing contaminants and pollutants. This is the equivalent of 25-30% of all contaminated soils generated in Victoria annually.

Removes contaminants from soil to make it safe to reuse for road base or general fill for industrial sites. The Dandenong South facility is designed to clean Category C soils, removing organic and inorganic contaminants such as oil, fuel, debris, organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic carbons and heavy metals from soils and aggregate so it can be repurposed for beneficial reuse.
 

Everyone depends on healthy soil as a critical resource for our environment and economy. We need facilities that can de-pollute and restore soil to a healthy state, and to stop otherwise useful soil from going to landfill. 

That’s why Veolia and Ventia have relocated a soil washing plant to the Taylors Road Resource Recovery Precinct, Dandenong South. The soil washing plant, which is now open for business, has the capacity to divert from landfill the equivalent of 25-30% of all Category C contaminated soils generated in Victoria every year.

The relocation is part of a joint venture between Veolia and Ventia to bring an advanced facility to Greater Melbourne where there is increasing demand for its services.

EarthSure can process up to 160,000 tonnes of Category C contaminated soils and aggregates every year, which can then be reused in a range of projects, where recovered aggregates and sand replace the need for quarried materials. Category C soils most commonly come from remediation and construction projects.

The plant’s advanced treatment processes can be configured to separate organic and inorganic contaminants, including oils, fuel, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals, allowing the cleaned soil to be reused rather than going to landfill. 

“Protecting soil health also means protecting human health. EarthSure’s facility is a groundbreaking and scalable solution for Victoria’s environmental security and circular economy. The new facility allows us to recover more contaminated soils, by treating them to a level where they can be safely reused in a range of construction and civil engineering applications such as for backfilling, concrete, asphalt, and more,” said Veolia’s Chief Operating Officer Resource Recovery, Carmen Loecherer.

“By successfully treating these materials, EarthSure significantly reduces the need for quarried virgin materials. This is a huge boost to Victoria’s sustainability and circular economy targets and shows how businesses like ours play a role in the environmental security of  our society.”

The introduction of the soil wash plant complements the existing direct fired thermal desorption facility at the Taylors Road Resource Recovery Precinct, which already treats more highly contaminated Category A and B waste derived from industrial processes and remediation projects. Together with the newly opened EarthSure Soil Wash Plant, they establish Taylors Road Resource Recovery Precinct as a trusted, one-stop solution for soil remediation across Category A, B, and C soils. For the first time, soil from complex environmental projects can be managed at a single location.

Ventia General Manager Environmental Services Adam Fletcher said the facility's opening was particularly timely as demand for soil washing services increases in support of large-scale infrastructure projects in Victoria.

“As landfill capacity tightens and demand for sustainable construction materials grows, soil washing allows us to keep valuable resources in use rather than buried. It’s a clear example of the circular economy in action—turning waste into supply when the market needs it most,” Mr Fletcher said.

“It is a great example of infrastructure designed for the sustainability expectations of today and into the future.”

The plant was established with the support of a $1.15 million grant from Sustainability Victoria Circular Economy Infrastructure Fund - Hazardous Waste, delivered by Sustainability Victoria under the Victorian Government's circular economy plan, Recycling Victoria: A new economy.