Jap Knotweed...consience v 'walk away'.

[leswold]

Had a price accepted to take some some trees between which grows a heap of JK. Told the (traveller) customer that we'd follow LA advice & not use chipper or remove any logs/arisings. Now been cancelled as someone has offered to remove all. Really not bothered re losing the job but wondered if I ought to take it further as I wouldn't like to think of an innocent farmer/wood processor getting his pile/logs infected.

[peatff]

Knotweed spreads through the rhizomes so you would have to be digging it up to take away to cause any propagation. Taking the wood and chippings will not cause it to spread.

[leswold]

Ah, ok thanks for that. Walk away it is then.

[Matthew Storrs]

Knotweed spreads through the rhizomes so you would have to be digging it up to take away to cause any propagation. Taking the wood and chippings will not cause it to spread.

 

I don't think this is entirely accurate. I believe (and google confirms it!) that JK can spread through Rhizomes, stems and the leaves. They are all capable of spreading it.

[stihlmadasever]

I work for my LA and we are told to leave knotweed on site as it can spread through cuttings- stems/leaves etc

[leswold]

Interesting...thanks for the replies.

[Steve Bullman]

I was told JK could spread from a single cell

[Mesterh]

Knotweed spreads through the rhizomes so you would have to be digging it up to take away to cause any propagation. Taking the wood and chippings will not cause it to spread.

 

You 100% sure on that?

 

As others have said it can spread from leaves, stem etc AFAIK hence the restrictions.

 

 

I wouldnt bother following it up as I doubt anyone will do anything about it.

Lets face it there's loads of knot weed on LA land across the UK, they dont have the resources to control it so I doubt anyone will try to enforce others to sort it out. Unless its a big funded job then someone will find a few million quid from a pot somewhere.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

It's a not uncommon situation in the broader sense:

 

Diligent, knowledgable, conscientious operator usurped by cheap, irresponsible, bodger taking scant regard for standards, bio-security, safety and regulation serving a customer whose primary interest is price.

 

Until it becomes normal practice to expose (to the customer and appropriate agencies) illegal felling, bad practice and cowboy operations we'll never be rid of fly-by-nights.

[10 Bears]

I was told JK could spread from a single cell

 

Not quite sure about a single cell, but certainly from any small e.g. 1 cm size piece that also contains a node.

 

This is why it is not permitted to cut JKN and haul it down the road to the tip, notwithstanding commercial waste disposal regulations/licence, due to the risk of further contamination should it fall from the back of your truck/trailer.

 

JKN has to be chemically treated on site, or as already mentioned, controlled large scale soil excavation followed by heat treatment of the soils (very, very expensive if done to the correct standard and I've never heard of this actually being done anywhere).

 

Another approach is to have a very high heat burn up, ie with accelerants involved, but even then, this doesn't always work.