Home › Guides › Site clearance: waste licences, bonfires and Japanese knotweed
Site clearance generates waste and sometimes uncovers problems—overgrown invasive plants or accumulated rubble. Understanding your legal responsibilities as a property owner ensures that clearance work complies with environmental law and protects both the site and your neighbours.
Duty of care: your responsibility for waste
Duty of care is a legal principle that makes you responsible for waste produced on your property. Even when you hire someone to remove it, the ultimate responsibility remains yours. You must take all reasonable measures to ensure waste is disposed of lawfully and safely, and that it does not harm people’s health or the environment.
If you hire a contractor to clear garden waste, remove rubble, or dispose of other site material, you must verify that the contractor is authorised to handle that waste. This means checking their waste carrier registration.
A waste carrier is anyone who collects, transports, or disposes of waste as part of a business or with a view to profit—this includes landscape gardeners, tree surgeons, builders, and site clearance firms. All must be registered with the Environment Agency (in England).
Checking a waste carrier’s licence
Before hiring a contractor, ask for their waste carrier registration number. It will begin with “CBDU” followed by numerals. Do not assume someone is licensed because they look professional or come recommended.
Verify the registration using the Environment Agency’s online public register at gov.uk, where you can search by:
- Registration number
- Business name
- Postcode
Alternatively, call the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506 (during office hours).
Keep a record of the registration number you checked, or take a photograph of their registration certificate, as proof that you met your duty of care. If a contractor later disposes of waste illegally or causes environmental damage, your records show you took reasonable care.
Failure to check a contractor’s licence and hire an unlicensed carrier can result in an unlimited fine for you as the property owner, even if the contractor is at fault.
Disposing of garden waste at local sites
The easiest legal option for most garden clearance is to transport material to a household recycling centre. Wiltshire Council operates a network of recycling centres across the county. These facilities accept green waste including grass cuttings, hedge trimmings, branches, and leaves. Many centres operate on defined days and hours, so check opening times before visiting.
Recycling centres are free or low-cost, there is no paperwork or licence involved, and the waste is composted or chipped on-site. This is the straightforward route for typical residential garden clearance.
For large commercial clearance or contaminated soil, working with a licensed waste carrier becomes necessary.
Bonfire rules and restrictions
You can legally have a garden bonfire, but it is subject to strict conditions and can easily become a statutory nuisance.
You cannot burn:
- Household waste (including general rubbish, plastics, treated wood, or anything that produces smoke and fumes)
- Anything that will “cause pollution or harm people’s health”
You must not:
- Allow smoke to drift across a road, as this creates a traffic hazard and you can be fined
- Burn materials that create a statutory nuisance through persistent smoke or fumes
A statutory nuisance occurs when a bonfire is regular or large enough that it prevents neighbours from enjoying their garden or opening windows. Even a one-off large fire producing heavy smoke can breach this threshold. If a neighbour complains, your local council can investigate and issue an abatement notice. Non-compliance can result in fines up to £5,000 (or £20,000 for business premises).
For most site clearance, especially in suburban or communal settings, composting or recycling garden waste is preferable to bonfire disposal. If you must burn, do so only for dry wood and clean garden waste on a small scale, on a calm day, and away from neighbours’ windows.
Japanese knotweed: identification and legal duties
Japanese knotweed is an invasive non-native plant that grows rapidly and can damage buildings, drainage, and paving. It is recognisable by its thick reddish stems, broad heart-shaped leaves, and creamy-white flower spikes in late summer.
You do not legally have to remove Japanese knotweed from your land, but you must prevent it from spreading off your property onto neighbouring land or into the wild. It is a criminal offence to cause Japanese knotweed to spread into the wild or onto others’ property. Prosecution can result in substantial fines.
Treatment and disposal
If Japanese knotweed is present, treatment typically requires:
- Herbicide treatment: Usually at least 3 years of repeated applications to kill the root system
- Burial on-site: At least 5 metres deep, or 2 metres deep if covered with protective membrane (requires Environment Agency notification at least one month in advance)
- Professional removal: Knotweed is classed as “controlled waste” and must be disposed of at a licensed landfill by a licensed waste carrier
- Burning: Possible under specific conditions and exemptions, but must be documented
Do not treat Japanese knotweed yourself unless you have appropriate skills and experience. Incomplete or careless treatment spreads the problem. Hire specialists accredited by organisations such as INNSA (Invasive Non-Native Species Association) or the Property Care Association.
Disposing of Japanese knotweed improperly—in domestic waste bins or by fly-tipping—is illegal and can result in prosecution.
Other invasive plants
Giant hogweed is another invasive non-native plant with serious consequences. It causes severe skin burns when sap contacts skin in sunlight. Like Japanese knotweed, you must prevent it from spreading to neighbours’ land. It is a criminal offence to cause giant hogweed to grow in the wild. Disposal must be by licensed waste carrier.
Himalayan balsam, rhododendron ponticum, and New Zealand pygmyweed are similarly protected species. You must not allow them to spread.
If you discover any of these invasive plants during site clearance, note their location and extent before commencing work. Contact a specialist contractor to handle removal and disposal legally. Taking a careless approach can expose you and neighbours to risk and result in fines.
Key points
- Check any waste contractor’s carrier registration on the Environment Agency’s online register before hiring them; registration numbers begin with CBDU.
- You remain responsible for waste disposal even after hiring a contractor; keep records of their registration to prove duty of care.
- Dispose of garden waste at Wiltshire Council household recycling centres—free, straightforward, and legally compliant.
- Bonfires are restricted; you cannot burn household waste or create a statutory nuisance through smoke; fines reach £5,000.
- Japanese knotweed and giant hogweed must not spread off your property; preventing spread is a legal duty; disposal must be by licensed carrier.
- Invasive plants require professional treatment; do not DIY, as improper removal spreads the problem and breaks the law.