Environmental guidance for your business in Northern Ireland & Scotland
Non-native plants are those species that have been brought into Scotland. Some of these become invasive - with the ability to spread, causing damage to the environment, the economy, our health and the way we live.
Moving soil contaminated with non-native species from one place to another, or incorrectly handling and transporting contaminated material and plant cuttings, can cause these plants to spread into the wild. In Scotland it is forbidden to plant or cause to grown in the wild, any non-native plant.
If you have non-native plants on your premises you have a responsibility to prevent them spreading into the wild. For those plants that are known to be invasive, you should take steps to avoid them causing damage or becoming a nuisance.
If you are controlling non-native plants on land that you own or occupy, you must comply with specific legal responsibilities, including:
You do not have to report any plant species in Scotland. However you can support the efforts being made to map the extent of invasions by reporting non-native species.
Injurious weeds are those that are considered able to cause harm to agricultural pasture. The five species of 'injurious weed' are:
If you have any injurious species on your land, you can be required to control them, if:
Scottish Government: Preventing the spread of Ragwort
Non-native Species Secretariat: Information on non-native invasive species
NatureScot: Non-native species
Your legal responsibilities in Northern Ireland
Your legal responsibilities in Scotland
Handling and working with invasive plants
Spraying invasive plants with herbicide
Cutting and burning invasive plants
Burying invasive plant material on site
Disposing of invasive plants and contaminated soils off-site
Groundwater in Northern Ireland, DAERA have produced a leaflet to raise awareness about this untapped resource
EU Exit, EU Exit useful information
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