# CannotBurnOrRecycleOnRootSubnet (/docs/errors/chain/CannotBurnOrRecycleOnRootSubnet)

`recycle_alpha` or `burn_alpha` was called with netuid 0, and TAO on the root subnet cannot be burned or recycled. Pass a non-root `netuid` argument for the subnet whose alpha you want to recycle or burn.

Declared by the `SubtensorModule` pallet; it classifies to the semantic code [`invalid_argument`](/docs/errors/invalid-argument).

## Remediation [#remediation]

Check the argument values against the operation schema

The same explanation is available in the terminal: `btcli explain CannotBurnOrRecycleOnRootSubnet`.