From waste status to valuable resource

This website was established as part of the project ”Helhedsorienteret Bæredygtig Jordhåndtering” (Holistic Sustainable Soil Management) in the period 2013-2016, initiated by the Capital Region of Denmark, led by the Danish Association of Construction Clients, and implemented in partnerships with up to 40 private companies, organizations, as well as public authorities, institutions and agencies. Find the list of partners here. Niras and SWECO participated as technical consultants.

The content is intended to inspire

The project's results in the form of a wide range of reports, planning and decision-making tools, guides, paradigms, tools, etc. represent the basic content of the website and were last reviewed in February 2026. The material is generally available and can be used for inspiration at the user's own risk. In case of direct use of content (including quotes), please cite the website as the source.

In addition to the project results, the website also contains links to relevant knowledge outside the project, which has been collected by the editorial team or suggested by users.

Our ambition with the website

The parties behind jordhåndtering.dk have an ambition that the content on the website can contribute 1) to avoid a very large amounts of excavated soil are generated and moved every year as a result of construction and civil engineering activities and/or 2) that the reduced amounts are used in a resource-efficient and sustainable way – also in an economic sense. The overall objective is that excavated soil should be perceived as a resource and not as a waste problem.

A reduction in excavated and moved surplus soil should thus protect the environment and biodiversity, respectively the climate in the form of lower CO2 emissions because of fossil-based transport. Many cases show that there can be beneficial business cases in managing the soil sustainably, e.g. through soil balance or other responsible reincorporation/reuse of the surplus soil with or without refinement processes, and that positive social aspects of soil management also can be achieved. Both require that the management is being considered in the earliest phase of construction and civil engineering activity.

Sustainable soil management in an EU perspective

Danish Association of Construction Clients, GATE21, Høje Taastrup Municipality, Roskilde Municipality and the Capital Region of Denmark participated in 2019-2023 in a HORIZON2020 initiative, CITYLOOPS, funded by the EU, with the participation of 6 European countries. The focus of the initiative was circular economy within food waste, construction waste and excavated soil. A large number of sub-projects mapped barriers and drivers have been tested in specific cases and evaluated in terms of effects and implementation maturity. At CITYLOOPS you can find the results of the sub-projects, a large number of analyses and tested tools, which are made freely available.

Share your knowledge

In addition to the above, the ambition is that the content of the website is as much as possible user-driven knowledge sharing within the subject, holistic sustainable soil management. So, explore the website, find inspiration and contact us if you have new knowledge you would like to share, or an illustrative case that you think is missing from the collection.

We are responsible for the website

The website is hosted and operated by the Danish Association of Construction Clients on behalf of the Region of Eastern Denmark, which supports the operation and thus ensures that the site and content are generally accessible. Write to info@bygherreforeningen.dk

Our use of sustainability as term

The term "sustainable soil management" was originally used on this website in connection with the dissemination of the project 'Holistically oriented Sustainable Soil Management', and refers to the commonly used term for sustainability, which in turn refers to the Brundtland report 'Our Common Future' (1987). The use of the term has been retained in the latest update of the website (February 2026), as the editorial team assesses that the term is comprehensive and promotes the essence of the work on environmental, social and economic issues within soil management that the website communicates.

It cannot be concluded from this that the use of solutions described for inspiration on this website can be described or defined as sustainable, unless this can be documented in accordance with the Consumer Ombudsman's interpretation of the Danish Marketing Act. For other terms used, please refer to the Glossary.

Further information

For more information, please send an email to:

raastoffer@regionh.dk (The Eastern Region of Denmark), att. Mr. Johannes Dandanell Neimann or Mr. Niels Brix

info@bygherreforeningen.dk (Danish Association of Construction Clients), att. Mr. Graves Simonsen