Utilisation of waste in earthworks

The owner must submit a notice of the activity to the environmental information system. Print, fill in and sign two copies of the form and send them to the registry office of the ELY Centre responsible for the area.

Waste materials that can be used in earthworks are specified in the Government decree on the use of certain waste types in earthworks (the MARA Decree, 843/2017). The specified waste types can be used by public utilities or operators in the following types of construction:

• roads
• surfaced fields
• embankments
• foundations of industrial and warehousing facilities
• ash-aggregate roads for forestry machines

The decree applies to the specified types of earthworks and associated temporary storage when the activities are based on a regulatory plan, permit, notification procedure or a local authority’s building code. In addition, the decree applies to road and rail refurbishment and upgrade projects specified by transport authorities, even if the associated plans are not regulatory plans or subject to an administrative decision. These include e.g. refurbishment projects of the Finnish Transport Agency and Finavia. The same applies to coordinated construction of roads for forestry machines, whether or not government assistance is received.

The decree does not apply to Class 1 and 2 groundwater areas, areas intended for housing or children’s playgrounds, nature conservation sites, food agriculture sites or inland flood zones. Waste materials can be used without an environmental permit if the quality management and utilisation of the waste is organised and reported to the environmental information database in accordance with the decree.

The use or temporary storage of waste can begin when the waste has been handed over to the owner of the site or storage facility.