Weeds - dispose or use?

​If clients don't mind, we leave weeds onsite to let them to rot down as compost, smother existing weeds, and to save labour and costs in removing them. Anything we can do to improve the soil’s structure and microbe population is a win. 

Woolsacks full of weeds for green waste at the tip.

Here's how
Here’s how you can reuse organic matter (anything that once grew) and save yourself effort and money.
Learn to identify the pest, or invasive plants, (ideally when they are small) versus the less nasty weeds that will curl up and die without a fight.
It’s fine to leave the less nasty weeds on top of garden beds or around plants to rot down to improve the soil, which helps hold water and nutrients on your land.

A different approach is needed for the baddies, those that reproduce like crazy using a variety of cunning tricks. For these, you can:

• Dig or pull them out or rake up (eg tradescantia) and pile in a corner or in a contained compost area. You can cover them with black polythene to speed decomposition and reduce chances of regrowth. If they do regrow, you can spray herbicide on regrowth or manage the edges of the pile while the bulk rots down. You can use on garden once they are definitely dead.
• Put them in a waterproof container, add water (or wait for rain) and put the lid on. Once they’ve rotted down, you can water the garden with the resulting soup. There’s no guarantee on nutrient value, but there’s nothing to lose.
• Bag them up and take to green waste
  

To avoid spreading the types of pest plants you have, have separate piles in each garden area, eg front and back.

More info
To identify pest plants see Weedbusters.
Pests in Wellington region and more general info see, Greater Wellington Regional Council Pest Plants. 

Ivy is one of the most common pest plants we come across. It grows up trees and shrubs and smothers them. Birds eat the ripe berries and drop the seeds in the bush with a dollop of fertiliser.