Sedirade Centre for the management and economic development of dredged sediments

Lorient and its surrounding area naturally look out towards the sea and as a result possess a significant maritime economy. As is the case along many coastlines, the bay here requires dredging to maintain the activities of private and public contractors (Cap l'Orient, Région Bretagne, DCNS, etc.).

Over the next five years, more than one million cubic metres of sediment will be dredged, including almost 100 000m3 of contaminated sediment which cannot be returned to the sea.
No land-based solution currently exists for this sediment.

The SEDIRADE project is proposing to respond to this issue by putting in place the long-term, integrated management of 'orphan' (that is unexploitable) dredged sediments.

SEDIRADE's aim is to develop a model of an industrial platform for sorting, pre-treating and processing sediments and developing their economic potential, as well as for storing those sediments which are unsuitable for depositing underwater.

Two experimental centres will be created for this purpose as part of a benchmark environmental and social initiative comprising transport by waterway, stabilising sediments to reduce potential polluting effects and mechanisms to inform and consult residents and users.

An initial sorting, pre-treatment and processing centre will generate alternative building materials which can be developed for use in highways and regional planning works.

A second centre will provide storage for spoil with no immediate development potential. The whole facility will eventually come on stream and be capable of processing up to 25 000m3 of sediment annually. One of the essential technical stages of the project will therefore be the scale-up of operations. The profitability of the system for the economic operators involved in this new form of public/private partnership, as well as its impact - environmental, economic, tourist, etc., will also be evaluated.

Ongoing support will be provided and an analysis carried out of the project's social acceptability - essential elements of the information and consultation processes.

Submitted in response to ADEME's call for expressions of interest under the 'Investissements d'Avenir' (Investing in the Future) programme, the SEDIRADE project will run for five years. It comes within the scope of regional sustainable development and is also required to produce a model which can be transferred to other maritime coastlines involved in dredging.