SAND AND GRAVEL

Sand and gravel are created from the breaking down of rocks, through weathering and erosional processes . There are different kinds of these materials, some more suited to human purposes than others, for example desert sand is to round to be used in concrete. Apart from water and air, sand is the most consumed resource in the world with around 50 billion tonnes being used every year (1). This high demand for aggregate (sand and gravel) is leading to a sand crisis as demand is predicted to rise by 45% over the next 4 decades, leaving behind devastating damage to the environment (2).

Some countries do have measures in place to reduce sand mining and its impacts, such as the UK, Germany etc. but regardless of this, illegal sand mining continues, even in the UK. This makes it hard to trust the source of sand and gravel. Due to its vital contribution to concrete, it can be advised to reduce Concrete usage, therefore reducing sand consumption and its environmental impact. In the garden sand is used for a range of purposes such as to lay fake lawns, create permeable grounds for rainwater, secure paving stones, and can be found in concrete used in a garden.

Pros:

– It is possible to obtain recycled sand, made from glass bottles which can be used for a range of purposes like coastal restoration, sandbags for disaster relief and garden landscaping (3).

–Sand and gravel can be used as a permeable paving option as it allows rainwater to enter the ground, and this helps prevent local flooding. You can also get eco-aggerates that are by products of the ceramics industry (4). 

–Sand is often mined around 30-40km from where its needed in the UK, limiting travel emissions (5).

– New methods for sand extraction are being used such as harvesting from quarries or by making manufactured sand, these methods can be more environmentally friendly than using waterbed mining for example (6).

– There are regulations on the mining of sand and gravel across Europe with authorisation often depending on an Environmental Impact Assessment  (7).

Cons:

–Mining of marine and river ecosystems can lead to erosion , salination of aquifers,  loss of protection against storm surges and a fall in biodiversity. With the challenges of  climate change these effects are going to increase the environments vulnerability (8, 11).

– Destruction of habitats is the main concern with sand and gravel mining as not only is an extremely invasive processes (especially river mining), and the surrounding areas can be damaged due to heavy machinery that is used (9).

–Mining of floodplains can be less damaging, but it can change the water course  creating dead ends which cause issues for wildlife during mining (9, 11).

–Large scale disruption of a river ecosystem from sand and gravel mining can take decades for the rivers respond and recover from the disturbances (10).

–Sand is a finite resource, particularly as desert sand cannot be used for construction as its to smooth, so the high demand and slow natural replenishment means its unsustainable (11).

– The degradation of water quality is a major issue linked to riverbed mining. Key factors contributing to this deterioration include sediment release, altered flow patterns, and increased turbidity. Sedimentation from mining activities can smother habitats and impact the reproductive success of sensitive organisms, intensifying biodiversity loss (12).

– A lot of sand is extracted illegally. Even in the UK, an example is Lough Neagh. Under EU law, planning permission (a precautionary approach, as its also known) is needed before harvesting to assess potential damage, however this was not provided (7).

– There is no international convention regulating mining, use, and trade, making it hard to trust sourcing. A report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) urges sand to be recognized as a strategic resource, not just a construction material and that an international standard for sand extraction should be adopted (13).

Sources:

  1. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20191108-why-the-world-is-running-out-of-sand
  2. https://theweek.com/news/science-health/960931/why-is-the-world-running-out-of-sand
  3. https://www.beachcombingmagazine.com/blogs/news/glass-half-full-recycling-glass-into-sand
  4. https://www.rhs.org.uk/garden-design/permeable-paving
  5. https://www.bgs.ac.uk/news/living-in-a-world-made-of-sand/
  6. https://www.metso.com/insights/blog/aggregates/manufactured-sand-for-sand-shortage/
  7. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273486146_A_conceptual_approach_to_model_sand-gravel_extraction_from_rivers_based_on_a_game_theory_perspective
  8. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/09/global-sand-mining-demand-impacting-environment/
  9. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/feb/27/sand-mining-global-environmental-crisis-never-heard
  10. https://wwfint.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/sandmining_execsum__final_.pdf
  11. https://accelerator.chathamhouse.org/article/driven-to-extraction-can-sand-mining-be-sustainable/
  12. Damseth, S., Thakur, K., Kumar, R., Kumar, S., Mahajan, D., Kumari, H., Sharma, D. and Kumar Sharma, A. (2024). Assessing the impacts of riverbed mining on aquatic ecosystems: A critical review of effects on water quality and biodiversity. HydroResearch, [online] 7, pp.122–130. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hydres.2024.01.004.
  13. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/our-use-sand-brings-us-against-wall-says-unep-report