Guidance for Community Weeding Scheme volunteers
Advice for volunteers on identifying, removing and disposing of weeds safely.
Keeping safe
Bending over to remove weeds puts a strain on your back, so please remember to bend your knees, not your back, when weeding. You may find using knee pads or an old cushion to kneel on helps.
Remember to wear suitable gloves and wash your hands afterwards.
Limit your weeding activities to pavements and channels/gutters to avoid risks from passing traffic.
How to remove street weeds
Most weeds are easily removed by pulling them out by hand or using a garden hoe.
However, you may occasionally encounter more established growth (e.g. suckers growing from tree bases) that is most easily removed using garden clippers.
Which weeds to focus on
Not all wild plants growing on local streets need to be removed. Please focus on removing ones that may present slip or trip hazards, adversely affect drainage in channels or gutters, cause root damage to the highway surface and/or are particularly vigorous or invasive (e.g. buddleia, ash/sycamore seedlings and red valerian).
Remember that plants growing against front garden walls are unlikely to be trip or slip hazards and can help to 'green' the street environment. But plants growing in channels tend to trap debris, encouraging more growth and blocking drainage, which can lead to surface water pooling.
Use Pesticide Action Network UK’s helpful guide to plants on pavements to help you identify the types of street plants listed above
What not to remove
We have a duty to conserve and enhance biodiversity, so if you identify plants growing on pavements that are listed as critically endangered, such as Jersey Cudweed, which also has legal protection against removal, do not remove them.
Invasive species
Conversely, we have a duty to remove invasive plant species including Japanese Knotweed and Giant Hogweed, but this should only be done by trained professionals to avoid spreading spores/seeds.
If you identify these, please email ecameron@wandsworth.gov.uk to request removal.
Minimising re-growth
Where possible, try to pull the roots out with the weed, as this will prevent them regrowing. This particularly helps with deep-rooted perennials such as dandelions.
However, please try to minimise the amount of sand/earth pulled out with any roots to avoid destabilising paving slabs. You’re likely to find that pulling weeds with minimal sand/soil is easiest when the ground is wet following significant rainfall.
Disposing of weeds
You should dispose of any weeds you remove either in your general rubbish or by home composting them.