Rotherham council wrote a highly inaccurate article which it distributed to thousands of residents in its Summer 2009 edition of its newspaper Council Matters. It says about ragwort " If you find some in your garden, spraying the plant with an appropriate herbicide is the most effective option, followed by removal of the plant and root system. Household Waste Recycling Centres and your Green Bin composting service will not be able to accept Japanese Knotweed, Giant Hogweed or Ragwort."
The other two plants are FOREIGN INVADERS. Ragwort is NATIVE.
It goes on to say , " Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is an offence to plant or otherwise cause Giant Hogweed or Ragwort to grow in the wild. This includes spreading the species or transferring polluted ground material from one area to another.
This is true for the foreign Giant Hogweed but not for Ragwort. It doesn't seem that they know that ragwort is a native plant. The law on ragwort DOES NOT SAY THIS. The various Acts of Parliament do not place any automatic legal obligation for control on anyone. See Ragwort law