This great photo was taken by Colin Scott in Delft this morning. A specialist in coastal habitat creation and restoration, Colin is attending the first meeting of the Central Dredging Association (CEDA) Working Group on Beneficial Use of Sediment (WGBU) today at the CEDA HQ in Delft, the Netherlands.

In 2016 the CEDA Environment Commission invited a selection of experts with knowledge and experience in dredging in the marine environment and the beneficial use of sediments to join the WGBU.

The Working Group will be preparing a CEDA information paper on the Beneficial Use of Sediment that highlights the recent advances in support of sustainability.

Historically the most common sediment management approach employed in many countries has been disposal at sea. However, over the last few decades there has been an increasing recognition that sediment is a resource that can be used to provide benefit in environmental and engineering programmes.

Recently there have been considerable advances in knowledge about the natural environment and its processes and dynamics which has facilitated innovative uses of sediment.

The WGBU will be working on the paper over the next 12 months and, when completed, will be freely available on the CEDA website.