Soil Banking
Los Angeles County produces over 160,000 tons of clean sediment each year from construction projects such as foundation excavation and site grading. That’s enough to cover 80 football fields to a depth of 8 inches. Most of this “dirt” is trucked long distances to cover landfills or fill in quarries.
What if we could divert this clean, excavated sediment, mix it with locally sourced compost and transform it into healthy soil to grow food locally and restore contaminated sites?
This is known as Soil Banking.
Opportunity Areas
Health
Los Angeles soils are frequently contaminated with lead and other heavy metals above the safe limit, especially in older land parcels and with proximity to freeways.
Access to healthy, microbiome-diverse soils reduce asthma and allergy rates in children
Extreme Heat
Over the last decade, 7 heat waves have cost California $7.7 billion in cumulative damages, resulting in 460 deaths, 5000 hospitalizations, and nearly 10,600 emergency room visits.
By mid-century, over 22% of LA County residents – 2.2 million people – will be considered highly vulnerable to extreme heat
Carbon Capture
Each ton of excavated sediment has the potential to stabilize & store approx. 95 lbs. of carbon.
Equivalent to 27,900 metric tons of CO2 per year, or same as emissions from 6,500 gasoline-powered vehicles.
If we turned sediment into healthy soil, we’d get…
Soil Remediation through clean material for capping contaminated soil
Food Security through inexpensive, productive, locally-available soil for urban gardens
Carbon Sequestration by finding a home for excess organic matter
Cost Savings for both soil donors and soil recipients
Cooler Cities by providing a substrate for stormwater capture & vegetated surfaces for heat island reduction
Healthier Communities through access to clean, healthy soil
Green Jobs building healthy soils & managing localized food supply chains
Air Pollution Reduction through reduced material hauling distances
How would this work?
Material Donors
LA Urban Soil Social Impact Collaborative
Soil Recipients
Some organizations excavate tons of pristine, uncontaminated sediment and they need to get rid of it.
Other entities make loads of healthy compost and mulch but can’t find enough recipients for it.
As the intermediary, the LA Urban Soil Social Impact Collaborative builds relationships with sediment and compost providers, verifies that their material is contaminant-free, and mixes the material into a soil blend that can be used for urban farming and restoration.
Some groups, such as disadvantaged communities, need clean soil to deal with contamination issues, or expand urban farming.
There are also government agencies that need soil to maintain parks, playgrounds, and other natural public resources.
Case Study
Soil banking in Los Angeles was inspired by the New York City Clean Soil Bank, which has been continuously diverting excavated sediment from construction sites since 2013.
Operated by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation, this program has recycled over 600,000 tons of soil, shortened truck trips by over 2.2 million miles, and reduced CO2 emissions by 4,800 metric tons.
We are in the pilot process of building something similar here in Los Angeles.
NYC Clean Soil Bank’s Forbell Street Stockpile
Join us for our first ever pilot demonstration!
Saturday, March 7th from 10 am – 1 pm
at Mudtown Farms, located at 2001 E 103rd St., Los Angeles
