‘FABsoil’ to the rescue A
rtificial soils using recycled waste could solve the world’s food problems, a UK university thinks.
The research team at the University of Plymouth, in association with the Sustainable Earth Institute and The Eden Project, has embarked on the ambitious FABsoil project by launching a series of 12 to 18-month-long experiments using composted green waste, clay, grit and bark obtained from small businesses in south west England.
The goal is to develop a blueprint for making a stable and fertile product from recycled and waste materials to sustain plant growth without significant need for additional fertilisers.
The material produced could be used for landscaping through to crop production. The Eden Project has already produced 81,700 tons of fabricated soil and used it successfully for a number of years.
“What we’re trying to do is replicate the functions of soil, but not the soil material itself,” said Dr Jennifer Rhymes. “There’s the genuine possibility that FABsoil could become more effective than our increasingly degraded soils, and that would be amazing.”