Dispose of excavated earth: costs per m³ / tonne of earth + free variants

Regardless of whether you want to plant a large construction project such as a basement or just a group of trees, soil is always used in these projects. So-called excavation occurs in all projects in the garden when soil is removed from the ground and no longer returned. This must not be disposed of with household waste, but must either be brought to the landfill for a fee via a service provider or by yourself.

Excavation

What is excavated earth?

Excavated earth is understood to mean all amounts of earth that take place during excavation on one's own property. This results in large amounts of soil that are no longer needed if they are not to be used again. Excavation can occur during all work in the garden and the following examples are typical projects.

• underground rooms such as cellars
• Pools
• created streams or water courses
• small hills like those implemented in Asian garden concepts
• large groups of trees

Many of these projects produce a large amount of excavated earth. The amount of soil in the ground is compacted and, so to speak, is stuck and cannot spread. As soon as the soil has been exposed, it is no longer compacted and increases in volume. A whopping 25 to 30 percent more volume is to be expected here, which, with an area of ​​ten square meters, provides plenty of excavated earth that has to be disposed of at the end. Depending on the area and depth of the excavated area, the costs change, but so do the Soil quality and possible contamination by plant residues or chemical agents must be considered To be considered.

floor

The floor in detail

It is recommended that you understand the different layers of soil before any project in the garden that requires excavation. The soil therefore consists of several layers, two of which are important for horticulture.

• Topsoil
• deeper layers of the earth

While the mother earth, also known as topsoil or arable topsoil, has to be specially disposed of or recycled, all of the remaining soil can be disposed of without any problems. These are the deeper layers of the earth that have no fertile purpose, such as the following.

• gravel
• Clay soil
• Limestone soil
• Sand soil
• Clay
• slate

These layers lie under the mother earth, which represents the uppermost soil horizon and accordingly falls into a different category. The above-mentioned types of soil are the classic types of soil in Germany that arise during excavation and are difficult to use after the construction project has been completed. They even count as building rubble as soon as they are contaminated or cannot be used otherwise for the construction project. However, this does not turn them into waste immediately, but can be recycled. However, the demand here is not as great as for mother earth, so disposal is usually associated with higher costs.

Topsoil

The topsoil, on the other hand, is an important commodity compared to regular soil and must therefore be specially treated. The earth falls under Section 202 BauGB and for this reason must not be mixed, wasted or destroyed with other soils, especially building rubble. The mother earth is the first layer of the soil and measures between 20 to 30 centimeters in Central Europe and can reach a depth of one meter in other regions of the world. This form of excavation must be maintained by the gardener or builder, as it has the following components.

• Minerals: silt, clay, fine sand
• Nutrients, especially nitrogen
• organic substances such as humus
• Soil organisms: aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, earthworms, mites and other organisms
• Stones smaller than ten centimeters

All these properties make the mother earth important for the thriving of plants, which would be difficult to survive without this composition. For this reason, you are bound to preserve this layer of earth and not to mix it with the other layers of earth, otherwise they will be contaminated and no longer be used effectively. A big advantage of the resulting topsoil is the high demand. Top soil does not necessarily have to be disposed of, that would be a shame. As soon as the soil is not contaminated, you can simply hand it in free of charge and then don't even have to worry about transporting it.

You have the following options:

• Floor exchanges can be found in almost every major city and municipality
• File sharing networks on the Internet
• Classified ads

With this form of soil, however, you have to be careful not to contaminate it. This means that you have to protect the topsoil from contamination that could reduce the quality of the soil and impair it so much that it can no longer be used.

The following materials must not get into the ground:

• Root system
• Plant remains
• big stones
• plastic
• asphalt
• gravel
• Plaster
• metal
• residual waste
• wood
• brick

It is also important that the soil has not been contaminated by chemical agents, as this means that it no longer counts as arable topsoil and has to be disposed of. These agents are anything that does not occur in nature and that can be toxic to microorganisms and plants, such as oils, gasoline, even washing-up liquid should be mentioned here. You should therefore pay particular attention to storing the floor correctly so that it is not contaminated and thus incurring more costs. Also make sure that the organic soil starts to rot easily if stored incorrectly.

Tip: Depending on the quality of the topsoil, you can even sell it, but the range is quite large as many hobby gardeners offer their remaining soil. But it never hurts to offer the floor on the Internet, as this can save you a lot of costs.

costs

The costs of disposing of excavated earth differ greatly in terms of the amount and type of soil. First of all, you need to work out how much excavated earth will be in order to calculate the exact cost. In the private sector, smaller amounts of excavated earth are often produced, which is very beneficial. The most important value when disposing of excavated earth is the accumulated cubic meters, which result from the width, height and length of the excavated hole. For example, if you want to create a small pond with the values ​​1 x 1 x 3 m³, you will get a value of 3 m³, which corresponds to a small container.

You will then have to pay the following costs:

• Container: rental, transport and removal
• Fill the container if you don't do it yourself
• Disposal costs at the landfill

Containers for small quantities can be found in sizes from one to 15 cubic meters and can easily be filled by yourself. They hardly take up space on the property or on the street and are therefore not in the way. The average value for a container with ten cubic meters is in the range of 180 to 250 euros, whereby the transport of the container is included in the price. The cost of a company filling the container depends on the size of the container and the amount of excavation. On average, this cost item amounts to an additional 200 to 250 euros.

Sample calculation

If you have around ten cubic meters of excavated earth, you pay:

Container with self-filling: 180 - 250 euros

+ Container filled by company: 320 - 400 euros

+ Disposal at the landfill: 20 - 50 euros

= Total costs: 520 - 700 euros

In addition, there are the storage costs at the landfill, which in Germany amount to three to five euros per ton. On average, one cubic meter of earth weighs between 900 and 1,000 kilograms, depending on whether the excavated earth is moist. So dry soil weighs around ten percent less, you should include this in the calculation. So for ten cubic meters you pay around 30 to 50 euros. That increases the total price to 550 to 750 euros.

Large amounts of excavated earth

One container is no longer sufficient for quantities in the range of 100 cubic meters, which are mainly used in building houses or horticulture, for example for a pool. For this purpose, trucks are mainly used, which can transport between 100 and 300 cubic meters. Here you have completely different dimensions in the area of ​​costs and these quantities can hardly be disposed of free of charge. You fill the truck yourself. For the truck itself, companies charge an average of 800 to 1,000 euros, depending on how long you need it.

Further costs are:

• Transport to the landfill: 180 to 250 euros
• Storage at the landfill: 300 to 500 euros

This gives you an amount of 1,280 to 1,750 euros if you have larger quantities. One advantage here, however, is the cost savings in relation to the container. Since everything is done by truck, the costs are reduced accordingly.

Free variants

Of course, you can also dispose of the excavated earth free of charge so as not to pay for it. This is particularly worthwhile for private purposes, if there is no real house building or similar pending. Perhaps you dug a three cubic meter pit to create a garden pond and now you need to dispose of the soil. As mentioned above, you must of course make sure that the first layer is the valuable arable topsoil and that you should not mix it up. You can dispose of excess soil free of charge with the following endeavors, including the above options in relation to mother earth.

• Floor exchanges
• Classified ads
• distribute on the property
• integrate into the garden

Since these variants are primarily for private individuals, you have to bear in mind that smaller amounts of excavated earth can be obtained more quickly. Ten cubic meters is quite a lot, but it is often easier to buy than 300 cubic meters, as is typical for large construction projects.

Floor exchanges

The topsoil exchanges are places where you can not only deliver your topsoil directly, but also all other excavated earth. These usually do not offer collection. Therefore, it pays off if you bring small amounts of soil to these exchanges and have them processed further. Depending on the demand, sometimes you don't even have to pay anything, which is especially the case with mother earth. The only costs that arise here are the transport costs, which differ depending on the amount of excavation. This variant is usually the fastest method, as the exchanges use the material again immediately.

Note: Depending on the service, you may have to pay for the acceptance of the floor, which is still cheaper than the waste companies.

Classified ads

Other forms of exchanges are, above all, classified ads on the Internet, and even services such as eBay offer themselves for the supply of excavated earth. Here you can place an ad free of charge and hope that someone will respond to your ad. You can decide for yourself whether you want to have the excavated earth delivered or just have it picked up. That makes it particularly easy, especially if you only have small amounts of excavation ready here. In the private sector, the classifieds have proven to be extremely useful, as the buyers hardly have to pay for the mother earth themselves. That makes them a perfect exchange platform for gardeners.

Distribute on the property

Of course, you can also spread the remaining excavated earth over your property, as long as it is definitely topsoil. Here, for example, lawns in spring that have not yet been sown are ideal. Since even large amounts of soil with good distribution only increase the soil by a few centimeters, offers This method is good for quickly using superfluous material effectively instead of dispose. As soon as you distribute the soil thoroughly, you can compact the soil with the help of a vibrating plate and make it usable. Vibratory plates cost around 30 euros per day, which is quite sufficient for a small garden.

Tip: You can also use this solution to level out unevenness in the ground with the help of excavation. To do this, you simply put more soil into holes and systematically fill up your property.

garden

Integrate into the garden

One way to use the topsoil sensibly and process it free of charge is to implement horticultural projects that require soil. Many gardeners use the excavated earth for earth walls, which either frame the property or can be used as a section of the garden. Since the mother earth is mainly nutrient-rich material, it can then be planted, which will make for an appealing aspect. You can plant herbs, shrubs, bushes, trees and even hedges in these earth walls and thus dispense with disposal.

Tip: If you like to have wildlife near your yard, you will benefit from these earthworks as well. Depending on the size and volume, different animal species can nestle here, above all birds, which you can observe all year round.