Invasive plants: what's the law, and what can I do?
Cherry laurel, summer lilac, Japanese knotweed, goldenrod, tree of heaven or ragweed: some alien plants spread aggressively and crowd out native nature. For the most dangerous species, an almost complete handling ban applies. For further species, a sale and distribution ban has applied since 1 September 2024. Here you can find out what applies in your own garden, on building sites and at watercourses, how to remove and dispose of plants correctly, why weedkillers are mostly banned, and where to report finds and banned offers. You cannot force an authority to act, but you can give it targeted information.
Reviewed by a lawyer on 30 September 2026Official sources
Watch out
Do not sell, give away or exchange plants from either list, including through online platforms, at plant swaps, at flea markets or among acquaintances. Do not bring such plants back from abroad either: importing them also counts as putting them into circulation. For the second list, this has applied since 1 September 2024. You may not plant or propagate plants from the first list at all. Anyone who intentionally breaches these rules can be punished with imprisonment of up to three years or a monetary penalty, and more severely if acting on a commercial basis. Negligence is also punishable.
Invasive plants often spread through soil and plant remains. With knotweed, even small pieces of root or stem can form a new plant. So do not tip garden waste, cuttings or soil into the forest, into a stream or at the roadside. Do not take soil from a place with such plants to another place. Soil containing plants from the first list (Annex 2.1) must stay at the place where it was removed, or be disposed of so that the plants cannot spread further. The duty to reuse excavated soil wherever possible applies only to soil that contains no invasive alien organisms. Clean tools, machinery and footwear before leaving an infested site.
Do not reach for a weedkiller. Products against plants are banned on roofs and terraces, on storage areas, on and beside roads, paths and squares, and on embankments and green strips along roads and railway tracks. The ban does not distinguish between public and private paths and squares. All plant protection products are also banned in nature reserves, in reed beds and moors, in hedges and field copses, in the forest, and in and around watercourses, each together with a three-metre strip, as well as in the innermost groundwater protection zone. Exceptions exist only for the targeted treatment of individual problem plants in certain places, for example along hedges and forest edges, on embankments, or on national and cantonal roads, and only if mowing and other measures do not work. Clarify this with the cantonal specialist agency beforehand.
Making a report does not make you a party to proceedings. You cannot force the authority to take action against an owner or a business. For that, the Federal Supreme Court requires you to be more affected than the general public and to have your own interest worth protecting. According to case law, commitment to nature and biological diversity alone is not enough; there is no such thing as an action brought in the interest of everyone, a so-called popular action. What is effective, then, is a precise report with location, photo and date, a follow-up enquiry to the specialist agency after some time, and a tip-off to a nature conservation organisation in your region.
BGE 139 II 279, E. 2.3BGer 2C_532/2025 vom 21. Juli 2026, E. 4.2
What to do
Here is how to remove plants: first identify the species with certainty, for example using Info Flora's fact sheets and photos. Remove the plants before the seeds ripen, so that no seeds reach the soil. Pull annual species and young plants out roots and all. Dig up shrubs and young trees together with the root stock. With the tree of heaven, sawn-off trunks resprout vigorously; get advice for this. Knotweeds form deep-reaching root runners: pulling them out once is not enough, it takes repeated mowing or digging over several years. Wear gloves. The sap of giant hogweed causes severe skin burns in combination with sunlight; wear long clothing and eye protection. The pollen of ragweed triggers severe allergies. For large stands, at watercourses, in the forest or on someone else's land, contact the cantonal specialist agency or the municipality first.
On building sites, invasive plants are especially often carried off with excavated material. If you are building yourself, check before excavation whether such plants grow on the property. Inform the construction company and keep a record of where infested soil is located and where it is taken. Soil containing species from the first list may not simply be taken to another property. If, as an outsider, you see infested soil being carted away or dumped, report it to the cantonal specialist agency for invasive species or for soil. The canton monitors whether the duties of care are being observed and orders any necessary measures.
If the plants are growing on someone else's land, for example at a neighbour's, by a road or on railway land, you may not simply intervene there yourself. Speak to the owner and point out the species; many people do not know that a plant is invasive. For roads, watercourses and public facilities, maintenance is usually the responsibility of the municipality, the canton or the railway; report the location there or to the cantonal specialist agency. Whether you can require a neighbour to remove plants is a question of neighbour law and is not covered here.
Here is how to report a find: you can record locations with Info Flora, the national data and information centre for the Swiss flora, for example using the online field book for neophytes or the InvasivApp. Give the exact location and take a photo. Report larger stands, finds at watercourses, in the forest or in protected areas, and species from the first list, additionally to the cantonal specialist agency for invasive species or to the municipality. If you see a shop or an online platform offering banned species, report it to the cantonal specialist agency: it is responsible for controlling sales. Note down the seller, the date, the plant name, and a link or a photo.
The law
Invasive alien plants are species that did not originally come from Europe, spread aggressively here, and can thereby crowd out native plants and animals or harm people. Federal law, more precisely the Release Ordinance, keeps two lists. Species on the first list (Annex 2.1) are subject to an almost complete handling ban. These include, for example, the Asian knotweeds including Japanese knotweed, the American goldenrods, the tree of heaven, the ragweeds, giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam and staghorn sumac. Species on the second list (Annex 2.2) are subject to a sale and distribution ban. These include, for example, cherry laurel, butterfly bush (popularly known as summer lilac), princess tree, Chinese windmill palm, annual fleabane and Himalayan blackberry. The Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) adjusts the lists as new findings emerge. So check the current version. For plants that are on neither list, only the general duties of care apply.
You may not handle species from the first list (Annex 2.1) directly in the environment. Almost any activity counts as handling: planting, propagating, using, transporting, storing, selling, giving away or exchanging. Only what serves to combat the plant is allowed, that is, pulling it out, digging it up, mowing it and disposing of it properly. Only the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) can authorise exceptions, and only in individual cases. So if such plants are growing on your property, you may not leave them standing in order to pass them on or propagate them. Make sure they do not spread further.
Since 1 September 2024, species from the second list (Annex 2.2) may no longer be put into circulation for outdoor use. This means: no selling, no giving away, no exchanging, no lending, and no importing into Switzerland. The ordinance does not expressly require you to remove existing plants. According to the FOEN, a cherry laurel or a summer lilac that was already in the garden before the ban may stay and be cared for. But you must prevent it from spreading uncontrolled. For example, cut off faded flower heads before seeds form, and do not pass on cuttings or young plants. If you are planting anew anyway, choose a native species.
Anyone who handles plants outdoors must take enough care that they do not endanger people, animals or the environment, and do not harm biological diversity. This applies to all alien plants, not only to the species on the lists. In concrete terms, the plants must not spread uncontrolled. Follow any care instructions you received when you bought the plant. Federal law today does not impose a general duty to remove all invasive plants from your own garden. But the canton can order control measures in an individual case, and cantonal rules can go further.
Do not put invasive plants on your own compost heap or on a brush pile. Seeds, roots and stem fragments can survive there and resprout. Under federal law, plant waste is only composted or fermented if it is suitable for this; otherwise it is incinerated, for example in a waste incineration plant. You must hand over waste to the collection schemes the canton provides; these are usually organised by the municipality. Whether your municipality accepts invasive plants with the green waste collection or with household refuse is for it to decide; ask the public works department or the municipal administration. In the open air, you may burn no more than natural garden waste, and only if this does not cause excessive emissions such as heavy smoke. Ask your municipality about this in advance too.
Particular care is needed at watercourses, in the forest, in hedges and in protected areas. In nature reserves, in and beside surface watercourses together with a three-metre strip, and in the forest, direct handling of alien plants is only allowed to prevent or remedy harm to people, animals, the environment or biological diversity. Forestry, fishing and hunting are also governed by their own laws. Do not act on your own initiative here: getting it wrong can damage riverbanks, disturb protected animals and plants, or carry plant parts into the water, which then spreads them further. Report the location and ask the cantonal specialist agency, the forestry service or the municipality whether and how you can help. Some municipalities and nature conservation associations organise supervised work parties.
The cantons are responsible for enforcement. They monitor whether the duties of care are observed when plants are handled outdoors, and order measures if there are shortcomings. Where plants appear that can harm the environment or biological diversity, the canton orders the necessary control measures. It may keep a publicly accessible register of locations. The cantons also carry out spot checks on nurseries, garden centres and other suppliers to see whether they sell banned species. How far a canton goes, whether it requires owners to control certain species, and who bears the costs, is regulated by each canton itself. You can find the information on your canton's website.
The law currently in force is based on the Environmental Protection Act, which allows the Federal Council to restrict or ban the handling of certain organisms and to prescribe measures to control them. In June 2025, the Federal Council sent an amendment to this Act on invasive alien species out for consultation. It is meant to regulate the control of such species better. This amendment is not yet in force (as at September 2026). Until then, the rules described here apply. You can find out from the FOEN whether and when anything changes.
Advice
Get personal advice if the canton or municipality issues you a ruling to control plants, or imposes the costs of this on you; you can only challenge such a ruling within the time limit stated in the instructions on legal remedies. The same applies if, as a developer, you have to dispose of infested soil in larger quantities, if you are accused of having sold or passed on banned plants, or if you run a horticulture or plant business. A lawyer experienced in environmental or administrative law can assess your situation. For disputes with neighbours over plants on the boundary, neighbour law governs.
Help
Free points of contact: the cantonal specialist agency for invasive species advises on identification, control and disposal, and takes reports. It is usually part of the office for the environment or the office for nature; you can find the contact details on your canton's website. Your municipality, often the public works department or the environmental office, will tell you how to hand in plant waste and knows who is responsible for public land. Info Flora offers fact sheets on every species, the species lists and the reporting tools. For finds in the forest, the forestry service can help, often the local district forester.
Scope
What federal law requires for invasive alien plants: the two species lists, the handling ban, the sale and distribution ban in force since 1 September 2024, duties of care in the garden and on building sites, removal and disposal, the ban on weedkillers in certain places, the tasks of the cantons, reporting finds and offers for sale, and the limits of these routes.
Not covered: Claims against neighbours over plants on the boundary (neighbour law), invasive animals and pathogens, agricultural weed control, the authorisation of plant protection products, and the individual cantonal rules and fees.
Sources
USG · Art. 30c
Behandlung
1Abfälle müssen für die Ablagerung so behandelt werden, dass sie möglichst wenig organisch gebundenen Kohlenstoff enthalten und möglichst wasserunlöslich sind.
2Abfälle dürfen ausserhalb von Anlagen nicht verbrannt werden; ausgenommen ist das Verbrennen natürlicher Wald‑, Feld- und Gartenabfälle, wenn dadurch keine übermässigen Immissionen entstehen.
3Der Bundesrat kann für bestimmte Abfälle weitere Vorschriften über die Behandlung erlassen.
Official text, in German · Open on Fedlex · Statute texts checked on 30 September 2026.
USG · Art. 31b
Entsorgung der Siedlungsabfälle
1Siedlungsabfälle, Abfälle aus dem öffentlichen Strassenunterhalt und der öffentlichen Abwasserreinigung sowie Abfälle, deren Inhaber nicht ermittelt werden kann oder zahlungsunfähig ist, werden von den Kantonen entsorgt. Für Abfälle, die nach besonderen Vorschriften des Bundes vom Inhaber verwertet oder von Dritten zurückgenommen werden müssen, richtet sich die Entsorgungspflicht nach Artikel 31c.
2Die Kantone legen für diese Abfälle Einzugsgebiete fest und sorgen für einen wirtschaftlichen Betrieb der Abfallanlagen.
3Der Inhaber muss die Abfälle den von den Kantonen vorgesehenen Sammlungen oder Sammelstellen übergeben.
4-6 …
7Selbst kleine Mengen von Abfällen, wie Verpackungen oder Zigarettenstummel, dürfen nicht ausserhalb der vorgesehenen Sammlungen weggeworfen oder liegengelassen werden. Die Kantone können bei bewilligungspflichtigen Veranstaltungen Ausnahmen von diesem Verbot vorsehen.
Official text, in German · Open on Fedlex · Statute texts checked on 30 September 2026.
USG · Art. 60
Verbrechen und Vergehen
1Mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu drei Jahren oder Geldstrafe wird bestraft, wer vorsätzlich: a. die zur Verhinderung von Katastrophen verfügten Sicherheitsmassnahmen unterlässt oder das Verbot bestimmter Produktionsverfahren oder Lagerhaltungen missachtet (Art. 10); b. Stoffe, von denen er weiss oder wissen muss, dass bestimmte Verwendungen die Umwelt oder mittelbar den Menschen gefährden können, für diese Verwendungen in Verkehr bringt (Art. 26); c. Stoffe in Verkehr bringt, ohne den Abnehmer über die umweltbezogenen Eigenschaften zu informieren (Art. 27 Abs. 1 Bst. a) oder über den vorschriftsgemässen Umgang anzuweisen (Art. 27 Abs. 1 Bst. b); d. mit Stoffen entgegen den Anweisungen so umgeht, dass sie, ihre Folgeprodukte oder Abfälle die Umwelt oder mittelbar den Menschen gefährden können (Art. 28); e. Vorschriften über Stoffe oder Organismen verletzt (Art. 29, 29b Abs. 2, 29f, 30a Bst. b und 34 Abs. 1); f. mit Organismen so umgeht, dass die Grundsätze von Artikel 29a Absatz 1 verletzt werden; g. beim Umgang mit pathogenen Organismen nicht alle notwendigen Einschliessungsmassnahmen trifft (Art. 29b Abs. 1); h. pathogene Organismen ohne Bewilligung im Versuch freisetzt oder für Verwendungen in der Umwelt in Verkehr bringt (Art. 29c Abs. 1 und 29d Abs. 3 und 4); i. Organismen, von denen er weiss oder wissen muss, dass bei bestimmten Verwendungen die Grundsätze von Artikel 29a Absatz 1 verletzt werden, in Verkehr bringt (Art. 29d Abs. 1); j. Organismen in Verkehr bringt, ohne den Abnehmer entsprechend zu informieren und anzuweisen (Art. 29e Abs. 1); k. mit Organismen entgegen den Anweisungen umgeht (Art. 29e Abs. 2); l. … m. eine Deponie ohne Bewilligung errichtet oder betreibt (Art. 30e Abs. 2); n. Sonderabfälle für die Übergabe nicht kennzeichnet (Art. 30f Abs. 2 Bst. a) oder an eine Unternehmung übergibt, die keine Bewilligung besitzt (Art. 30f Abs. 2 Bst. b); o. Sonderabfälle ohne Bewilligung entgegennimmt oder die Ein- oder Ausfuhr ohne Bewilligung veranlasst (Art. 30f Abs. 2 Bst. c und d); p. Vorschriften über den Verkehr mit Sonderabfällen verletzt (Art. 30f Abs. 1); q. Vorschriften über Abfälle (Art. 30a Bst. b) verletzt; r. Vorschriften über das erstmalige Inverkehrbringen von Holz und Holzerzeugnissen sowie von Rohstoffen und Produkten, die vom Bundesrat nach Artikel 35e Absatz 3 bezeichnet wurden, verletzt (Art. 35e und 35f Abs. 1 und 2 Bst. a); s. Vorschriften über die ressourcenschonende Gestaltung von Produkten und Verpackungen verletzt (Art. 35i Abs. 1); t. erneuerbare Brenn- oder Treibstoffe in Verkehr bringt, die die ökologischen Anforderungen nach Artikel 35d Absatz 1 oder 4 nicht erfüllen, oder falsche oder unvollständige Angaben dazu macht; u. gegen das Verbot nach Artikel 35d Absatz 2 verstösst.
1bisBei erschwerenden Umständen ist die Strafe Freiheitsstrafe bis zu fünf Jahren oder Geldstrafe. Erschwerende Umstände liegen vor, wenn: a. die durch die Widerhandlung herbeigeführte Gefährdung von Mensch oder Umwelt schwerwiegend ist; b. die Widerhandlung gewerbsmässig begangen wird; oder c. die Widerhandlung vom Täter als Mitglied einer Bande begangen wird, die sich zur fortgesetzten Ausübung von Widerhandlungen gegen dieses Gesetz zusammengefunden hat.
2Handelt der Täter fahrlässig, so ist die Strafe Geldstrafe bis zu 180 Tagessätzen.
3Das BAZG verfolgt und beurteilt Vergehen nach Absatz 1 Buchstaben t und u.
Official text, in German · Open on Fedlex · Statute texts checked on 30 September 2026.