Currently a lot of sediment is dredged from water bodies (more than 100 million m3 per year in Europe). The project will focus on the use of dredged sediments for construction. Demand for a valuable use of these sediments has increasingly been raised. Beneficial use of these sediments can often require ripening and soil formation before application. Field scale pilots where dredged sediment is ripened already exist. However, the chemical properties of these sediments and their chemical development during ripening are still to be studied. Geochemical speciation and stability will be assessed. These assessments will include availability of present pollutants and reactive surfaces will be studied. Analysis of field samples will be combined with modelling to predict (future) suitability of dredged sediments as a construction material.