COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, July 10, 2017

QUESTION NO.2

QUESTION: Councillor E. Fanning

To ask the Chief Executive to provide an update on the banning of the use of Glyphosate in public areas with a timeline for same, as agreed at the Council meeting of May 2nd 2017

REPLY:

Following the adoption of the motion at the May meeting of the County Council regarding a partial ban on the use of glyphosate, in the maintenance of public parks and playgrounds, staff from the Council's Public Realm Section have since attended two demonstrations on alternative weed control methods.  These demonstrations were of (1) a hot water technique and (2) a hot foam technique for weed removal, both were organised by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.  Having attended these demonstrations the Public Realm staff who attended are of the view that both techniques, while suitable for use in confined areas such as garden patios for example, are not suitable or practical for use in larger areas such as Council parks or playgrounds.

The use of industrial grade vinegar is regularly promoted as an alternative to conventional, glyphosate based weedkillers, however this is usually in the context of domestic applications also.  Nevertheless this will be examined as a possible alternative in certain locations, bearing in mind that it may have a nuisance factor due to odour.  It is also possible that it will enter watercourses following application and this will also need to be considered.

In addition it is proposed to obtain and trial other non-glyphosate weedkillers over the coming weeks and months.  It is envisaged that this will involve running trials of different products in different areas over a period of time, most likely towards the end of the summer period.  An assessment of the results will then be carried out to determine which, if any, performed satisfactorily in the trial.  A decision as to how to proceed and implement the ban will be made on the basis of this trial and assessment and it is likely that this will take place from the start of 2018.