AbstractConstruction overload on high compressive soils can cause significant settlements as to require the design of an appropriate soil treatment, including load compensation, aimed to hold the stress-strain state present in the soil when undisturbed. Lightweight materials, both natural and/or derived from industrial process, can be used to solve the problem of replacement of large volumes of material. This paper presents some preliminary results obtained from comparative tests on both natural lightweight materials and geofoam samples. Results focus on the possibility to reach adequate performance, allowing lightweight materials to be used for innovative applications such as airport pavement subgrades and embankments.