In the first six months of this year there have been fewer complaints to the council about weeds on our streets than there were last year.
The Council’s Transport and Environment Convener Lesley Macinnes explained to The Edinburgh Reporter that the council has made a major effort in the last year to deal with weed growth, and this has been helped by new equipment and a programme of digital mapping. She also said that she is encouraged by fewer complaints about the problem. A programme of Integrated Weed Control was adopted last October, making this a function of the Waste and Cleaning service as well as Parks and Roads.
Staff conducted a winter ‘deep clean’ which was followed by a relatively dry period in May and June. Cllr Macinnes claims this helped, but that the best line of attack has come from the use of weed rippers and quad bikes spraying weed killer where it is needed. The quad bikes were rented for five months to assess how effective they were. It appears that the speed they can get around is one indicator of success. At 25 July 2018 the council say that all streets had been treated at least once, with some streets having a second visit.
All 59,536 trees on streets, and in parks and cemeteries have been recorded on a digital map so that the council can record having dealt with the weeds at their base. In addition all council shrub and flower beds have also been added to that system. Some of the beds where annual flowers were planted have been changed to perennial beds to minimise the work involved, and the council uses mulch as well as relying on a weeding programme.
Last year the council employed two additional gardeners to apply weedkiller on foot. This resulted in 80% of streets being attended to during the growing season, but more work was carried out over the winter.
Following research the European Chemicals agency allowed glyphosate to be used in weedkillers for a further five years. There had been some adverse research on the chemical which is used in most licensed herbicides, but the accepted view is that there is no evidence to link glyphosate to cancer occurring in humans.
The council accepts that view but continues to use weedkiller (with vigilance) around certain areas such as public parks and school grounds, and the staff who use it do so in compliance with strict health and safety guidance.
In 2016 the council used about 4560 litres of glyphosate based weedkiller and this year up to end of July they have used approximately 2800 litres due to coverage of a greater area of the city.
Weed control using herbicide costs the council about £220,000 a year including expenditure on machinery.
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