The Industrial Resources Council is pleased to be partnering with North Carolina State University and USDA's Agricultural Research Service on a forum to expand the use of sustainable industrial materials in soils-related applications in the Southeast. Researchers in the Soil Science and Horticulture Departments at NCSU, the state land grant university, have collaborated with the IRC to develop the program for a one-day working meeting.

The 2014 North Carolina Sustainable Soils Forum will be held on Thursday, September 18 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm at the McKimmon Center for Extension & Continuing Education on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC.  Lunch is included in the nominal registration fee, and parking is free at the Center. CEU's available for instructional hours.

On Wednesday, September 17, the IRC is also partnering with the Federal Highway Administration and North Carolina Department of Transportation to offer a daylong workshop on the use of industrial materials in roadway construction applications.  The workshop will also be held at the McKimmon Center.  Information on the roadway workshop may be found by CLICKING HERE.

Soils Forum Objective

The Sustainable Soils Forum is meant to showcase the benefits of using industrial materials in a responsible manner in agriculture, as well as in other soils applications such as horticulture and landscaping. IRC materials with value in soils-related applications include residuals from pulp and paper manufacturing; gypsum derived from flue-gas desulferization (FGD) processes or recovered wallboard; steel furnace slags and foundry sands; and scrap tire rubber products.  In addition to plenary sessions, the forum will present information in two tracks.  One track is devoted to research and case studies supporting the use of target materials in traditional farm-based agricultural settings, where materials are typically land-applied to add organic or mineral components to improve soil quality.  Agricultural drainage systems may also be discussed.  The second track focuses on the reuse of target materials in soil blending for applications such as rain gardens and swales, horticultural and potting soils, urban soil reclamation, and landscaping applications such as composts and mulches. 

Sponsors & Supporters: