Biosecurity Services
Every strimmer, digger bucket and pair of boots that moves between sites carries a real risk of spreading Japanese knotweed fragments, INNS plant material or waterborne pathogens with it. We design and run wash-down and hygiene protocols so that risk stops at your site boundary.
Plant & Vehicle Wash-Down
Dedicated wash-down stations for plant, machinery and vehicles leaving contaminated or high-risk sites.
Check Clean Dry Protocols
Implementation of the Check Clean Dry biosecurity code for sites and operatives working near watercourses.
Plant Hygiene Procedures
Boot, tool and PPE decontamination procedures for teams moving between infested and clean areas.
Haulage & Movement Controls
Sheeting, containment and cleaning protocols for vehicles transporting contaminated soil or arisings off site.
Biosecurity Method Statements
Site-specific biosecurity RAMS produced for principal contractors and utility works.
Contaminated Waste Segregation
Segregated handling and disposal of plant material and soil under correct waste classification.
How the works run
- 1Risk assessmentWe identify invasive species present, watercourse proximity and cross-contamination routes on site.
- 2Protocol designA biosecurity method statement is written covering wash-down, movement control and waste handling.
- 3Wash-down installationWash-down stations and containment are set up at site exit points where required.
- 4Operative briefingSite teams are briefed on Check Clean Dry and hygiene procedures before works commence.
- 5Monitoring & sign-offWe monitor compliance through the works and provide a biosecurity close-out record.
Why biosecurity is a legal duty, not just good practice
Schedule 9 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to cause a listed invasive species to spread into the wild, and a knotweed rhizome fragment as small as 0.7 grams is capable of regenerating into a new stand. Machinery, footwear and vehicle tyres are the most common vector for this kind of spread between sites, which means a contractor moving between an infested site and a clean one without a wash-down protocol can be creating a new legal problem for the next client, even unintentionally.
Check Clean Dry and watercourse biosecurity
Check Clean Dry is the GB-wide biosecurity campaign, backed by Defra, the Environment Agency and the Non-Native Species Secretariat, aimed at stopping the spread of invasive plants and animals, including aquatic species and pathogens such as crayfish plague, via equipment used in or near water. Any works near rivers, ponds or drainage ditches, from vegetation clearance to ecological surveys, should follow the check, clean and dry sequence on all equipment and footwear between sites, and we build this into method statements for utility, rail and watercourse-adjacent projects as standard.
Compliance & accreditation
For how we identify species, price surveys and stand behind our work, see our approach FAQ.
Set up a biosecurity protocol
Tell us about your site and works programme and we will design a wash-down and hygiene protocol.