About the webinar

Turning operational waste into a useful rehabilitation product is a practical challenge for many water utilities and infrastructure managers. The Spoil to Topsoil project shows how two hard-to-manage waste streams have been repurposed into compliant, engineered topsoil, supporting restoration works across Canberra and offering lessons for circular-economy practice more broadly.

Delivered by Icon Water, Yass Earth Movers and the City and Environment Directorate, this project reinvents hard‑to‑manage waste streams from water treatment and network maintenance operations to generate a valuable product for rehabilitation across the ACT and potentially, Australia.

This industry‑first initiative repurposes two waste streams: water treatment solids (a by‑product commonly generated at water treatment plants across Australia) and spoil from Icon Water’s network maintenance operations. The initiative to reuse water treatment solids underwent nearly 10 years of studies and trials before the Spoil to Topsoil project received regulatory approval in 2024. This has enabled Icon Water to produce its own topsoil from internal waste streams, achieving superior restoration outcomes and repurposing almost 100% of its soil operational waste.

Since approval and implementation, Icon Water has produced approximately 3,000 m³ of compliant engineered‑soil products (topsoil) for restoration works across Canberra. These products have been successfully applied across Icon Water’s assets, delivering a fully integrated circular-economy solution that transforms waste into a valuable resource, reduces environmental impacts, and supports sustainable asset management.

This project extends Icon Water’s existing spoil‑reuse initiative under the ‘No Opportunity Wasted’ Banksia award‑winning program and aligns with the organisation’s Circular Economy Plan.

What the webinar will cover

• Why - Project origins and drivers (project background, its inception, and alignment with Icon Water's No Opportunity Wasted program)
• How - Early research, feasibility studies, and trials that shaped the reuse of waste streams
• When - Key milestones and progression over nearly a decade of development
• The trial, approval, and implementation - The Spoil to Topsoil trial, performance criteria, ACT EPA approval, quality control program, and application of engineered-soil products across the ACT
• Challenges and key lessons learned

Meet the speakers

Nupur Khanna | Sustainability and Resource Recovery Coordinator @ Icon Water
Nupur is responsible for identifying, developing, and promoting sustainability practices, with a focus on waste management and circular-economy policy and initiatives.

Kelly Lee | Principal Environmental Scientist at Lanterra Consulting Pty Ltd
Kelly specialises in contaminated land and the resource recovery of non-routine waste. Kelly was a technical specialist for Icon Water’s No Opportunity Wasted program, including the award-winning Spoil-to-Topsoil initiative.

Not an EIANZ member?

Consider joining as a student, associate or full member today! To receive the member rate for the workshop, make sure you apply for membership prior to registering for the event! Join here →

CPD points