Green waste compost and biochar amendments were assessed for their assistance in regulating the mobility
of copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) and the resultant uptake of these metals into vegetation. The amendments
were mixed with a heavily Cu and Pb contaminated soil (600 and 21,000mgkg−1, respectively) from a
former copper mine in Cheshire (UK), on a volume basis both singly and in combination in greenhouse
pot trials. Ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. var. Cadix) was grown for the following 4 months during which
biomass, metals in soil pore water and plant uptake were measured in three consecutive harvests. Very
high Pb concentrations in pore water from untreated soil (>80mgl−1) were reduced furthest by compost
amendment (