Edinburgh weeds: Phasing out controversial weedkiller means more investment required
More money looks set to be invested in clearing weeds from Edinburgh’s streets and pavements.
City transport and environment convener Stephen Jenkinson has acknowledged the council’s policy of working towards an end to the use of controversial weedkiller glyphosate means more staff and more equipment will be needed to remove the weeds.
“It's probably going to be more costly to maintain the same service,” he said.
His comments come after he conceded at the last full council meeting that the current state of weed control in the city was not good enough. In answer to a question from Lib Dem councillor Kevin Lang, he said: “Work is required in this space to improve weed management across the city.”
Cllr Lang said when it was agreed in September 2023 to phase out the use of glyphosate, the transport and environment committee had also agreed there should be no reduction overall in the scope and quality of weed control on roads and pavements.
Cllr Jenkinson said: “I think this does need to come back to committee, it does need further consideration. It is a challenge and ultimately what it is going to require is additional resource and therefore probably additional capital investment to ensure we do meet our objective of removing as many problem weeds as possible.”
In July, the Evening News reported that the number of complaints about weeds in Edinburgh had hit their highest level for more than a decade, with 636 requests to remove weeds last year.
Cllr Lang said: “By the Labour convener’s own admission, the quality of weed control across the city has gotten worse.
“The decision to phase out the use of herbicides was made on the clear promise that the scope and quality of weed control would not reduce. However, this year has seen some parts of Edinburgh covered in weeds, causing trip hazards and even damaging footpaths. It cannot carry on like this.
“I am pleased the convener recognises that things need to change and that the whole matter needs to come back to committee for further discussion. It is clear we need a complete rethink around how we tackle problem weeds across our communities.
“If there is a need for investing in more mechanical clearing equipment then we need to understand costs. This may be a very good and effective use of some money from the Visitor Levy.”
Cllr Jenkinson told the Evening News: “We do probably need to invest more in the service to get back to where we were We can’t spray the weeds any more so it will take more manual labour to get rid of them.
“We are working towards complete elimination of glyphosate, so we are steadily reducing it, but that means it has to be replaced by something else. There has been some investment in machinery, but it's a task that requires manpower.
“When it comes to funding non-statutory services it's harder and it means we have to take the money from somewhere else. That would probably form part of the budget process next year.”