There is a new awareness in the selection of remediation technologies at brownfield sites which considers the impact of remediation on the environment. This approach, which considers sustainability issues, has been dubbed "green remediation" and seems to be growing throughout the brownfield industry.

Green remediation considers whether the process of getting to the end point overshadows the end result and takes a more holistic assessment of the way in which the process will be achieved. For example, a site in Kentucky has an obvious dig-and-haul remedial solution, but the soil needs to be transported to a hazardous waste landfill in Canada. The resulting carbon footprint for transportation, the potential for roadway accidents and the resulting concentration of waste in one location suggest that a local solution might be more environmentally acceptable and sustainable. An in-situ destruction process would limit the carbon footprint, eliminate the potential for roadway accidents and totally alter the hazardous nature of the soil, even though it might entail a higher initial capital cost. ...

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