Guide
Japanese knotweed excavation cost: dig-out prices UK firms publish
Updated
Digging Japanese knotweed out costs several times more than treating it: the UK firms that publish a starting price for excavation put a garden job at from £4,000 to from £10,000, and soil taken to landfill pays landfill tax at the standard rate of £130.75 a tonne from 1 April 2026.
Published starting prices
| Firm | What the price covers | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| Weed Control UK | Hybrid excavation | from £4,000 |
| Environet | Residential excavation-based solution | from around £4,000 + VAT |
| Weed Control UK | Full excavation | from £8,000 |
| TP Knotweed | Complete excavation and off-site disposal, residential garden | from £10,000 + VAT |
| Taylor Weed Control | Excavation, as a guide per square metre | roughly £850 + VAT a square metre |
Sources: Weed Control UK, Environet, TP Knotweed and Taylor Weed Control. These are each firm's own published figures; the index on the home page counts one figure per firm, so excavation sits here rather than in its median.
Why excavation costs more
GOV.UK says knotweed soil and plant material may be classified as controlled waste, so taking it off site means a registered waste carrier and a permitted disposal site. Landfill tax is charged by weight: HMRC sets the standard rate at £130.75 a tonne from 1 April 2026, up from £126.15. Burying it on site instead needs the Environment Agency told at least one month before, and a depth of at least 5 metres, or 2 metres with a sealed geotextile membrane.
Published figures are what each firm advertises on its own page, read through our fetch box on the date shown. A 'from' price is the firm's floor.