The management of dredged sediments poses serious environmental and economic problems because of their geochemical properties and in particular their pollutant content. In this research, marine sediments from Tunisian harbors were collected to study their beneficial reuse as construction materials using an eco-friendly polymer binder. Experimental investigations include the determination of physicochemical, mineralogical, and environmental parameters of sediments from the Sidi Mansour and Sidi Youssef areas in Tunisia. Prismatic mortar samples (4 × 4 × 16 cm) were prepared at laboratory scale using normalized sand and epoxy resin. Then their composition was modified by including a sediment fraction in the substitution of sand at rates ranging from 10 to 50% in dry mass. After a 7-day curing period, mortar samples were submitted to mechanical, physicochemical, and environmental analyses. Mortar samples including sediment fractions displayed lower strength than sand mortar used as control. This result is explained by the increase of porosity values in the mortar samples when sediment samples were incorporated. A positive relationship between porosity and compressive strength values was evidenced, suggesting that the compactness of granular skeleton could play an important role in the preparation of materials. From an environmental point of view, the mortar samples containing sediment fractions showed relatively low leaching levels, which confirms their suitability for the manufacturing of construction materials.

Dredged sediments display a great potential for growing media applications; however, there are few studies about their beneficial reuse for the waste storage reclamation. This research study aims at checking the agronomic values and environmental impacts of three growing media based on waterways sediments (WSs) and green waste (GW) according ecolabel requirements. For this purpose, three growing media named GW0, GW25, and GW50 were prepared at field pilot scale by co-composting WS and GWs during 12 months. Samples were submitted to ecolabel analyses package. Following to the ecolabel requirements, the growing media comply with criteria like pH, electrical conductivity, trace elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contents, chlorides, and pathogens, whereas they are not in compliance with the EU Ecolabel guidelines for propagules, organic matter, and zinc contents. Results of laboratory leaching tests performed according to NF EN 12457-2 for GW0, GW25, and GW50 have shown that sulfates, soluble fraction exceed limit for inert waste storage. Lysimeter tests at pilot scale were performed during 6 months to check the leaching potential of pollutants from growing media under real field conditions, including a European ecolabel product. Results demonstrate that Ba, Mo, Sb, Zn, Se, and Sb are higher in GW0, GW25, and GW50 than in the European ecolabel. As, Cd, Cr, Ni, and F− are more soluble in the commercial product compared to other growing media. This study allowed to demonstrate that main characteristics are fulfilling for reusing these growing media in the specific field of waste storage reclamation.

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