Regulators tend to favour on-site techniques, which imply soil disposal as close to the source of contamination as possible. Ex situ remediation can be achieved on site, which requires the presence of a mobile decontamination unit, or off site, which requires that the soil be transported to a treatment facility (e.g., soil washing). Soil remediation techniques comprise in situ (non excavated soil) and ex situ techniques (soil is excavated). Such regulation has placed an economic imperative to develop low-cost remediation technologies for contaminated soils. Soil remediation projects need to incorporate environmental, technical, legislative, and economic factors, all of which are site specific.Įnvironmental regulations often obligate the remediation of soil if threshold values are exceeded or there is an unacceptable risk to agricultural production, ecosystems, or human health. The European Environment Agency has estimated the total costs for the clean up of contaminated sites in Europe to be between EUR 59 and 109 billion. In 1994, there were an estimated 22 million ha of contaminated soils worldwide. Soil contamination has become an important environmental problem worldwide because of its detrimental effects on human and ecosystem health, soil productivity, and socioeconomic well-being. Valuable biomass includes timber, bioenergy, feedstock for pyrolosis, biofortified products, or ecologically important species. We argue that the commercial success of phytotechnologies depends on the generation of valuable biomass on contaminated land, rather than a pure remediation technique that may not compare favourably with the costs of inaction or alternative technologies. The terminology used in phytotechnologies includes a confusing mish-mash of terms relating to concepts and processes increasing the difficulty of developing a unique commercial image. Here, we investigate the barriers to the adoption of phytotechnologies and determine whether it is still a fertile area for future research. However, there have been scant private and public investments and little commercial success with this technology. Research in this field has resulted in many important findings relating to plant and soil sciences. Phytotechnologies are often shown as an emerging tool to remediate contaminated soils.