The integration of alternatives into weed control programmes

The concerns around the use of chemical spraying techniques to control weeds in the urban and green space environments have continued to rise over the course of the last few years.

This has especially been the case as litigation is on the rise in relation to the use of glyphosate in the USA.

Councils in the UK are experiencing an increase in freedom of information requests and complaints with regard to how unwanted vegetation is controlled in their public spaces

All this has led to professionals and officers seeking to find alternative methods of weed control that can assist them in reducing or replacing the conventional chemical methods. Increasingly, councils are seeking to adopt a more integrated approach to their weed control programmes that incorporate a host of techniques to maintain their green spaces, streets and highways.

They have found that there are a range of options available to them: manual, mechanical, electrical and thermal (like Foamstream). By most measures, the alternatives available today require councils and green space managers to change the way their spaces are managed. This includes the need to invest in areas that have previously not required such attention.

Alternative methods can prove more costly, either from a labour, capital outlay, or consumables perspective. This cost is balanced against the need to respond to public demand and demonstrate that alternative methods are being trialled and subsequently implemented to provide the public and clients with the chemical-free weed control that they demand.

Weedingtech has recently launched its most competitive product yet – the Foamstream L12. The L12 was launched this year at SALTEX and was selected as a Top 10 product of the show.

The L12 is a leap forward in the evolution of alternative weed control, providing the maintenance team with a simpler, more efficient and cost-effective method of weed control that can be more easily integrated into land managers’ programmes.

The L12 also boasts a range of low and high-pressure cleaning functionalities suitable for street furniture, paving, chewing gum removal and graffities.