Japanese knotweed
A skip beside the house holds pieces that look like knotweed rhizomes. Have they been identified in a laboratory?
No. The pieces in the skip have not been identified in a laboratory. They look like knotweed rhizomes, which is a visual suspicion, not a lab result. The survey did not take a sample from the skip, did not send material away, and has not decided that the load is Japanese knotweed. GOV.UK's concern with this plant is about not causing it to spread. Looking into a skip is not that test. The pieces stay unidentified. Do not treat the load as confirmed knotweed, or as cleared, on appearance alone.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Rhizomes are underground stems. Several plants can leave brown woody pieces that a buyer will recognise from photographs, and knotweed debris can also be mixed with ordinary roots. A skip compresses that problem: the material may have come from this garden, from next door, or from works that have nothing to do with either. The survey can say what the pieces resemble. It cannot name the species from the kerb, and it has not opened bags to sort the load.
Tell the solicitor the skip holds unidentified material that resembles knotweed rhizomes. Ask where the waste came from and where it is going, without tipping it back onto the soil. A specialist can identify the plant if you instruct that. Do not carry the pieces to another site. The survey has not given you a laboratory name, and a lender may want that name before it treats the point as closed or as absent.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was any sample from the skip sent to a laboratory?
- Does a likeness to rhizomes settle the species?
- Has the survey told anyone to spread or replant the waste?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the skip contents as unidentified.
- Tell the solicitor where the waste is said to have come from.
- Instruct a specialist if a laboratory name is required.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Does an empty flower bed prove the garden is clear?
No. An empty bed shows what was visible at the surface on the day. It does not identify the pieces in the skip, and it does not dig the ground. Rhizomes can be present without a cane in leaf. The survey has not cleared the garden. Keep the skip question and the soil question separate until someone qualified looks at each.
Who should handle the waste if it is later confirmed?
A specialist contractor, not this survey. GOV.UK warns against causing Japanese knotweed to spread, including through soil and waste. The report has not named the pieces and has not arranged disposal. Ask the solicitor what the seller says the skip contains. Do not move the load yourself on the strength of a resemblance.