Different ways of beach nourishment normally allow restoring the lost layers of sediment on the coast by replacing it from other sources in 3 to 5 years cycles. Unlike traditional techniques, sand engine is a modern approach, which allows to extend those cycles to up to 10 years. The novelty of it is that the process is completed just in one go – the sediment is being added to the coast in large amount and then distributed along the shore by the wind and waves. It decreases the ecological footprint, gains coast area and encourages the improvement of local flora and fauna. First time this strategy was implemented in Netherlands in 2011 and was completed in 9 months. The outcome proved that technique works, and now it is planned to use it on other locations not only of the Dutch coast, but probably also of UK.

Image: map of the sand engine by By Smiley.toerist.