Non-ionic pollutants are removed from the soil by contacting the soil with a mixture of a particulate material having an anionic surfactant absorbed to a magnetic oxide. The surfactant complexes through the anionic charge to the magnetic particle and the non-ionic pollutants partitions into the sorbed surfactant. The particulate material including the surfactant and pollutant are magnetically removed from the soil. A typical embodiment utilizes ferric ferrous oxide and alkyl lauryl polyoxycarboxylate to remove polychlorinated biphenyls from soil.
