Alterra, Eco Materials open soil remediation facility in PA

A partnership consisting of Alterra IOS and Eco Materials has announced the completion and “grand opening” of a $40 million soil remediation and materials washing facility on the south side of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia-based Alterra IOS, which says it has some 300 industrial outdoor storage (IOS) sites nationwide, is allied in operating the plant with Eco Materials LLC, also based in Philadelphia, which Alterra describes as “a leading innovator in construction resource recovery.”

“The new plant offers a sustainable solution to reclaim and repurpose sand, aggregate and construction waste through an advanced wet washing process,” says Alterra, referring to the new site as a “cleanwashing” facility.

The system in place at the newly opened facility can remediate and repurpose more than 85 percent of incoming materials “back into the construction ecosystem for future use,” according to Alterra.

Situated on a multi-acre industrial outdoor storage site “with direct access to key regional infrastructure,” Alterra says the location “provides an essential new resource for local contractors, developers, municipalities and businesses looking to responsibly dispose of excavation materials and source high-quality, sustainable aggregates without relying on long-haul transport or distant landfills.”

“This facility represents the future of construction, where sustainability and profitability go hand in hand,” says Leo Addimando, co-founder and managing partner of Alterra IOS. “We’re transforming dirty soil into clean, reusable material on site, and we're doing it by cutting costs, reducing emissions and keeping the entire process local. This is a huge benefit for contractors, utilities, government agencies and developers looking to reduce costs and/or reduce their carbon footprint.”

Alterra describes the wash plant as purpose-built to extract impurities, contaminants and aggregates from excavated and contaminated soil. Alterra describes the outbound products as “quality soil, gravel, sand and stone for future use in public works, infrastructure projects, landscaping and construction projects.”

At the front end of the system is what the company calls a high-capacity scalping screen put in place to separate and organize aggregates. From there, an AggMax system supplied by United Kingdom-based CDE Group, which has a Texas office, separates stone, sand and clay “to allow for precise material recovery,” according to Alterra. Lightweight contaminants are removed by what Alterra calls a counterflow classification unit.

Water used in the process “is continuously captured and recycled” using a system also provided by CDE Group, which Alterra says can recover up to 95 percent of water for onsite reuse.

"At Eco Materials, we believe construction and environmental responsibility can, and should, go hand in hand,” says Andrew Paluszkiewicz, managing partner and director of operations of the firm. “Our facility proves that sustainable resources, like reclaimed soil and aggregate, can be reused time and again, dramatically reducing landfill waste and helping to conserve our planet’s limited natural resources.”

The wash plant had a ribbon-cutting and grand opening event on Friday, May 2, and can be visited by members of the public, say the firms.