Eight days hire of A Dig A Screener REMU L75 excavator-mounted screening bucket recently provided invasive weed management specialist, Herpetosure Invasive Solutions, with a flexible and cost-effective alternative to a second manned conveyor/screener, when eradicating Japanese Knotweed at a site in Portsmouth.
Japanese Knotweed is recognised by the Environment Agency as one of the UK’s most invasive plant species, with aggressive growth of up to 10cm a day causing extensive damage to buildings, foundations and roads. It spreads through the movement of rhizomes, the shoots that come from the root system.
The weed is regulated by several pieces of legislation, which put a duty of care on the landowner with infestations to be proactive in its control and eradication. This can be achieved in a number of ways, including chemical treatment and excavation, depending on the site and the timescales available.
At the site in Portsmouth over 1,000 tonnes of soil was first screened through the Dig A Screener REMU bucket and then carried via conveyor belt to a manned picking station. The use of the screener bucket dispensed with the need for an extra manned conveyor/screener.
The whole operation is designed to reduce the quantity of soil contaminated with Japanese Knotweed being sent to landfill, with cleaned material placed in a known location on site and monitored by Herpetosure for 12 months.
“The Dig A Screener REMU bucket provides us with a cost-effective and flexible solution when screening spoil,” commented Simon York of Herpetosure Invasive Solutions. “It requires a much smaller footprint than a traditional screener, makes greater use of the excavator on site and can easily be moved from one location to another on the back of a trailer. What’s more it’s ideal for smaller projects and, in some instances, can even do away with the need for a conveyor and manned screening station.”
www.digascreener.com
Tel 01606 835544
info@digascreener.com
For information about Leicestershire-based Herpetosure Invasive Solutions visit www.jknotweed.com
Tel 01664 444 660.