The Walloon Government has approved the signing of a collaboration agreement between the Institut Scientifique de Service Public (ISSeP), Valbiom and SPAQuE for a phytomanagement project, on the proposal of the Minister for the Environment and Spatial Planning Carlo DI ANTONIO.
Phytomanagement covers a range of techniques (phytostabilization, phytoextraction, phytoremediation or phytodegradation) using plant species in situ to contain, extract or degrade inorganic or organic pollutants.
The aim of this project is to study the feasibility of developing this practice as part of the rehabilitation of industrial wastelands and landfills in Wallonia.
This partnership should enable :
– Improve knowledge of phytomanagement in Wallonia;
– Apply phytostabilization on polluted sites to assess the technique’s ability to stabilize pollutants while managing risks to human health, the ecosystem and groundwater;
– Contribute to sustainable development by considering the use of the biomass produced in a circular economy approach.
The three partners (ISSeP, Valbiom and SPAQuE) will contribute their expertise to this three-year study, worth a total of €1,254,000 (incl. VAT).
ISSeP specializes in environmental monitoring in Wallonia, risk and nuisance prevention, and research and technological development.
VALBIOM is active in the field of renewable energies and biobased materials and products. The ASBL’s mission is to support the sustainable and harmonious development of non-food biomass value chains.
SPAQuE (Société publique d’aide à la qualité de l’environnement) is a company specializing in the rehabilitation of brownfield sites and landfills.
3 sites concerned
The phytomanagement system will be implemented on 3 new experimental sites with tree planting (willow, robinia, etc.):
– At Hensies on a sediment deposition site,
– In Boussu on a former landfill site.
Selection of the third site is currently underway.
As a reminder
In Wallonia, this method has already been implemented on three former industrial sites: Carcoke in Tertre, Bois Saint-Jean in Seraing, and Corderie Laurent in Boussu. On each of the sites, SPAQυE experimented with a one-hectare plantation of miscanthus, also known as “elephant grass”.
The purpose of these experimental biomass plantations was twofold: to temporarily reclaim a large surface area that had been left unused due to rehabilitation work, and to study the migration of pollutants from the soil to the plant, the influence of pollutants on the subsequent use of biomass and the effects on soil decontamination.
The miscanthus harvested could be processed and used as mulch or fuel.
Brownfield redevelopment represents a major opportunity for the economic and territorial development of Wallonia! The use of plants in this context is innovative and fully in line with a logic of ecological transition..
PRESS CONTACT: ISSeP: Elodie Bouhoulle 065 61 08 11 – Minister DI ANTONIO’s office – 0479/888.475