Japanese knotweed can regrow from a piece of root the size of a fingernail. That’s why the rules on getting rid of it are strict. It isn’t illegal to have knotweed on your land, and you don’t have to remove it. But you can be prosecuted if you let it spread into the wild, and once you dig it up, the plant and the soil around it have to be handled as controlled waste.
This guide covers the legal ways to dispose of knotweed, for homeowners with a patch in the garden and for contractors clearing a development site.
What the law says
- Spreading it is an offence. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it’s an offence to plant knotweed or cause it to grow in the wild. Dumping cuttings or contaminated soil can count.
- Dug-up knotweed is controlled waste. Plant material and soil containing knotweed must go to a site that’s allowed to accept it, carried by a registered waste carrier.
- Councils can take action. If knotweed on your land is affecting a neighbour, the council can issue a community protection notice requiring you to deal with it.
Option 1: bury it on site
For development sites, burial is often the cheapest legal route. The Environment Agency’s guidance is to:
- bury it at least 5 metres deep, or at least 2 metres deep if it’s wrapped in a root barrier membrane
- use a UV resistant membrane that will stay intact for at least 50 years
- tell the Environment Agency at least one month before you bury it
- record where it’s buried so it isn’t disturbed later
Option 2: burn it on site
Dried knotweed canes and leaves can be burned. Businesses need a D7 waste exemption and must tell the Environment Agency at least one week beforehand. Homeowners should check with their council first. Burning won’t kill the underground rhizome and crowns, so the remains still need to be buried or taken away.
Option 3: take it off site
Knotweed and contaminated soil can go to a landfill or incinerator that’s permitted to accept it.
- Use a registered waste carrier and tell them it’s knotweed.
- Check the receiving site accepts it before anything leaves your land.
- Cover or enclose the load so no fragments blow off during transport.
- Clean the vehicle and any tools afterwards, away from watercourses.
- Keep the waste transfer note for at least two years.
On a large site, contaminated soil is usually removed by muck away in covered grab lorries. Knotweed soil can’t be sold or reused as topsoil.
Why knotweed can’t go in a skip or green bin
A general waste skip goes to a transfer station where waste is sorted and green waste is often composted. Knotweed would survive composting and spread to wherever the compost ends up. For the same reason, it must never go in your garden waste bin or the green waste area at a recycling centre. Skip companies refuse it, and they may charge you if they find it in a load.
Advice for homeowners
- Don’t dig it out yourself unless you’re sure you can get every piece of root. Digging often spreads it.
- Don’t strim or flail it. This scatters fragments.
- Get a professional survey and management plan. Most treatment is herbicide over several seasons, and a plan with an insurance-backed guarantee helps if you sell your home. Mortgage lenders will often ask about it.
- Talk to your neighbours if it’s on a boundary. Treating one side alone rarely works.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put Japanese knotweed in my household bin?
Some councils allow small amounts of dried, bagged knotweed in general waste, but many don’t. Check with your council before you do it, and never use the garden waste bin.
Is Japanese knotweed hazardous waste?
No. It’s controlled waste, not hazardous waste, but it has its own disposal rules. Soil can become hazardous if it’s also contaminated with chemicals, oil or asbestos. See our contaminated soil disposal service.
Do I have to remove knotweed from my land?
No, but you must stop it spreading beyond your boundary, and you must declare it when you sell your property.
Need knotweed soil removed?
Select A Skip arranges covered grab lorries and licensed disposal for knotweed contaminated soil across the UK, with the paperwork to prove it went to the right place. See our soils and aggregates services, get a quote or call 01743 341 000.
Sources: GOV.UK, Prevent Japanese knotweed from spreading; Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.