ReCon Soil
A €3.2 million project aiming to revolutionise how waste material from construction projects is managed

Interreg France (Channel) England (FCE) is an EU programme set up to foster economic development in the south of the UK and north of France by funding innovative projects which have a sustainable and economic benefit.
It focuses on a range of specific objectives including supporting innovation, improving the attractiveness of the FCE area and developing low carbon technologies. Learn more about Interreg France (Channel) England (FCE).
For enquiries related to ReCon Soil contact Yve Metcalfe-Tyrrell, Project Manager
The ReCon Soil project will develop and roll out at least three new soil recipes made from locally-sourced construction waste, dredged sediments and agricultural by-products.
These recipes will be thoroughly investigated in laboratories in Plymouth, and then at sites in the UK and France, to monitor their effectiveness and potential environmental impact.
The data from those studies will then be incorporated into blueprints detailing when and where the soils can be deployed, and any amendments needed to ensure their effective deployment.
It will also establish five new low-carbon technology networks – with members from the construction, agricultural, conservation, and public sectors – and train 200 workers, helping to take reconstructed soils from research to commercialisation.
The project will also explore the current policy barriers and regulatory impediments that would need to be addressed for the practice to be rolled out right across the construction sector.
Read the press release
The University is home to world-leading researchers in various aspects of soil research. Working with partners including the world-famous Eden Project, it has over a decade of expertise in the design and manufacture of reconstructed soils. This includes measuring the effectiveness of soil recipes and the nutrients that need adding to ensure optimum mixes and working with industry and agriculture to ensure they are fit for purpose.
It has also led internationally significant research in Europe, Africa and South America looking at the causes and effects of soil degradation. That research has suggested that an interdisciplinary approach – which includes engaging local communities – is the only way to secure real and lasting change and avoid such devastating impacts on traditional farming landscapes.