See how we removed and recycled 2,500 tonnes of Mare’s Tail weed and root-infused soil from a property development site within six days, at half the price of our competitors.
Japanese Knotweed typically makes the headlines and leaves gardeners and landscapers quaking in their steel-toe capped boots, but our native Mare's Tale is just as problematic. By clearing our client's plot of land of the highly invasive weed, the well-known property developer can begin building their proposed collection of detached family townhouses in Surrey. Taking a sustainable approach, we treated and recycled the entire 2,500 tonnes of waste removed from the site.
With plans to build an extensive collection of apartments and family homes on their newly acquired plot of land in a sought-after destination in Surrey, our client was understandably keen to deal with their severe Mare's Tail problem. When they first approached us, they were simply interested in getting the land cleared of the highly invasive, native weed and had contacted multiple waste collection firms for quotes. However, they soon realised that Earth Haulage were able to take care of their Mare's Tail issue quickly and efficiently at half the price. What's more, we could recycle and reuse everything we removed from their site.
With plans to construct so many high-quality new build homes on the landscape, it was essential to our client that the weeds would not re-grow in the future and cause damage.
What is Mare’s Tail and why is it such a problem?
Mare's Tail (also known as Horse Tail) is an invasive, deep-rooted perennial weed that, like Japanese Knotweed, can grow from the smallest amount of retained rhizomes. It's vitally important to keep Mare's Tail at bay, or it will take over lawns and push out other growing plants in flower beds and borders seemingly overnight. Simply pulling out the hardy weed by hand is not advised, as the fibrous roots are especially deep-rooted, and the tiniest fragment left in the earth can resprout, causing more shoots to grow back. Without the correct treatment, Mare's Tail can spread rapidly from garden to garden, forming an undulating and uncontrollable carpet of green that grows through tarmac and block paving.
Mare's Tail lays dormant as a root net in winter before its fir tree-looking shoots appear in the summer, making it a headache to remove as you must choose the right time to treat them. Dealing with this nuisance weed correctly can be a serious challenge, especially with a larger land area, but it is achievable with the right approach. Employing an experienced company that understands the plant and can manage the process correctly is fundamental for effective Mare's Tail removal.
What is Mare’s Tail and why is it such a problem?
Mare's Tail (also known as Horse Tail) is an invasive, deep-rooted perennial weed that, like Japanese Knotweed, can grow from the smallest amount of retained rhizomes. It's vitally important to keep Mare's Tail at bay, or it will take over lawns and push out other growing plants in flower beds and borders seemingly overnight. Simply pulling out the hardy weed by hand is not advised, as the fibrous roots are especially deep-rooted, and the tiniest fragment left in the earth can resprout, causing more shoots to grow back. Without the correct treatment, Mare's Tail can spread rapidly from garden to garden, forming an undulating and uncontrollable carpet of green that grows through tarmac and block paving.
Mare's Tail lays dormant as a root net in winter before its fir tree-looking shoots appear in the summer, making it a headache to remove as you must choose the right time to treat them. Dealing with this nuisance weed correctly can be a serious challenge, especially with a larger land area, but it is achievable with the right approach. Employing an experienced company that understands the plant and can manage the process correctly is fundamental for effective Mare's Tail removal.
How did we help our client?
We treated the Mare's Tail with an herbicide in advance to help kill the weed at the root and stop the plants from re-growing next Summer. We then segregated the weeds from the sun using a damp proof membrane. When the time came to remove the dead weeds, we had to dig deep to ensure that we removed any soil with even the tiniest root particles. The process took our teams six days, by which time we had safely and efficiently removed around 2,500 tons from the site.
Recycling the removed waste rather than disposing into landfill
Sustainability is becoming ever more important to the nation's homeowners. New housing developments are our gift to future generations, so we must keep the environmental impact to a minimum during the build process. Earth Haulage believes that depositing waste from construction sites into landfills is one of the worst things you can do to the planet, especially as we can recycle so much of it.
Earth Haulage are affiliate members of IEMA (The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment). We follow their guidance and operate a hierarchy system to rank waste management options in order of environmental impact, enabling us to avoid landfill waste as much as possible for every project.
Firstly, we assess whether a waste material needs to be removed from the site. We then look at whether the materials can be reused for another purpose on the site itself, which is the next best option. If these alternatives are not suitable, we look to remove and recycle the waste. When recycling isn't possible, we would consider other energy recovery possibilities (anaerobic digestion, incineration with energy recovery etc). Finally, if no other options are available, the waste will head to a landfill site as a last resort.
It was clear from the start that the Mare's Tail could not remain on-site in its organic state, or we would run the risk of the plants re-growing. We carefully removed the waste material in tipper lorries before taking it to the closest recycling plant for treatment.
A happy client, and a happy planet.
Mare's Tail is resilient and spreads quickly between gardens under the soil. Come spring, homeowners and gardeners across the UK wait in anticipation to see if their efforts to remove the weed the previous year worked or whether they must begin the whole cycle all over again.
Our client, however, can progress with their building project on time and within budget, confident in the knowledge that Earth Haulage has effectively removed all traces of the weed from their development site in an eco-friendly manner that their customers will appreciate.
Being registered waste carriers, Earth Haulage can remove and dispose of surplus refuse from commercial developments, petrol stations, domestic building works and national parks, including hazardous waste. Give our friendly and expert team a call on 01784 279353, and we'll happily visit your site to assess the situation and provide you with a quote. Prefer to email? Please send us your details to sales@earthhaulage.com.