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Handling of moderate amounts of plant waste

Special care should be taken when handling and disposing of plant waste and soil containing invasive alien species, as invasive alien species can spread to the environment and new growth locations through plant waste and soil.

Plants spreading through seed dispersal, such as Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera), garden lupin(Lupinus polyphyllus), hogweeds (Heracleum persicum group) and western skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus), and plants that spread through even small parts of roots or rhizomes, such as Reynoutria × bohemica, Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) and giant knotweed (Reynoutrica sascalinensis), spread easily through plant waste and soil. Japanese rose (Rosa rugosa), on the other hand, belongs to species that can spread by means of seed dispersal and parts of roots.

No invasive alien species can be allowed to spread from the home garden or a park to the environment. This ban also applies to invasive alien species that have not been included in the Union list or of national concern.

Disposing of garden waste in nature, such as a forest edge, is prohibited by law. Many occurrences of invasive alien species have originated from garden waste disposed in nature.

These instructions are particularly applicable to home gardeners, housing companies, groups of volunteers and other parties whose operations generate moderate amounts of plant waste.

Checklist for handling waste generated in the control of invasive alien species

1. Identify, report, and check management instructions

If you are not familiar with a particular invasive alien species, you can use the vieraslajit.fi website to help identify it. At the same time, you can report your observation of invasive alien species. The website offers species-specific management instructions for most invasive alien species.

2. Plan and implement management measures

In the control of invasive alien species and the handling of plant waste, it is important to prevent and reduce the generation of waste. The goal is to minimise the amount of waste that contains seeds, roots or other plant parts that are used in spreading and are more difficult to dispose of. This requires thorough planning and implementation of control measures.

Basic principles for the planning and implementation of control measures:

Find out how the species reproduces and spreads. This affects both the selection of the best control measures and the appropriate handling of waste.
- With regard to invasive alien species spreading through seed dispersal, it must be ensured that no seeds can be formed. If seeds have been formed, the correct handling of plant waste containing seeds must be ensured.
- In the case of invasive alien species spreading through vegetative reproduction, control measures should be carried out to minimise the amount of plant waste containing any parts that are difficult to dispose of, such as roots, rhizomes or their pieces.
Correctly timed management practices
- When removing or cutting the shoots of invasive alien species when they are still small, less waste is generated. The best time for control measures depends on the plant species. For example, hogweeds can be removed as seedlings or cut just before flowering starts. If necessary, removing or cutting must be repeated two or three times during the growing season.
- Implement eradication of invasive alien species before flowering. In this case, you prevent the formation of seeds for plant species spreading through seed dispersal, such as hogweed and garden lupin, the generation of difficult waste and the spread of the species.
Select a control method based on the species and situation
- Always consider the species in question, its reproduction methods and the ways of spread when selecting the control method.
- Try to wither or cover growing plants, if possible, instead of digging up roots, as this will not generate any plant waste or soil that is difficult to dispose of.

3. Handle and dispose of waste appropriately

Waste containing invasive alien species can be handled in many ways at the site to reduce the amount of waste to be removed. First, it is advisable to separate parts of plants that are more difficult to dispose of from stems, leaves and other parts through which plants do not reproduce or spread.

You can dispose of plant waste on site, for example:

By composting the waste in a compost bin or a hot compost, for example. Composting is suitable for plant waste that does not include any reproductive parts, such as seeds of plants spreading through seed dispersal or the roots of plants spreading through vegetative reproduction. In a home or housing company compost, where the amount of compostable material is small, temperatures usually do not rise high enough for a sufficiently long time to destroy seeds and roots. Only shoots can be composted.
By leaving the waste in its place to decompose (with the landowner’s permission), whenever possible. This is suitable for plants spreading through seed dispersal, such as himalayan balsam, especially before they have formed any seeds. Roots and stems should be crushed, for example, by stamping.
By drying and chipping plant waste that does not contain any seeds. After drying, roots and wooden stem parts can be chipped, for example, and other parts can be composted. Chips can be used, for example, as a compost filler or as mulching material.
Through anaerobic digestion in a waste bag or barrel

If disposal is not possible on site, you can place a waste bag in a waste container or deliver it to a waste transfer station. However, always check instructions first from the local waste facility.

Small amounts of plant waste or soil containing seeds or other reproductive plant parts can be added to mixed burnable waste.
Small amounts of plant waste that does not contain seeds can be delivered to municipal biowaste collection, if this is permitted in the region’s waste management guidelines. Biowaste is used to produce biogas, compost material and fertilisers.
Larger amounts of waste containing invasive alien species must be delivered to a waste transfer station, where they are appropriately disposed of, for example, through effective industrial composting, which also destroys the seed germination capacity.
Make sure that no plant parts can spread during transport by packaging the waste into plastic bags and/or by covering the trailer with a tarpaulin.

4. Monitoring

Monitor the site for several years after the control measures. If you detect any new seedlings or shoots, repeat the control measures. For example, if you have left any Himalayan balsam cutting waste to decompose on the ground, the area must be monitored and, if necessary, management measures must be carried out.