PESTICIDE FREE BALERNO
Protect Nature
Protect Health
Protect Each other
​
Safe Alternatives
​
Foamstream the leading herbicide free treatment to remove weeds. It is a hot foam solution for safe weed control. The foam is made from natural organic plant oils and sugars making it safe to use around people, animals, and delicate environments like waterways.
​
Benefits
•Pesticide Free - safe to use around humans , pets
•Saves Council money - When used correctly actually works outcheaper than glyphosate (see chart)
• Can be used in all weathers, unlike glyphosate
• Multifunctional features can also be used to clean bus shelters, road signs, street furniture , graffiti and removes chewing gum
• Can be used all year round reducing costs attributed to downtime and allowing better planning of labour resources
• Does not need to have ongoing operator hazardous certification/training
• Does not require the operator to wear protective clothing
• Environmentally friendly supporting biodiversity
• Approved by the soil association / organic systems
• Used in France, Germany, Sweden, USA & Canada.
•Successfully used by 25 councils in the U.K.
Foamstream by Weedingtech useful data:
Glastonbury Council Case Study
​
FOAMSTREAM by WeedingTech
HOT WATER by Multevo
STRIMMING
MANUAL WEEDING outside your own home
Encourage your community to manually weed without chemicals outside their own property if it is safe and able to do so .
​Take responsibility for the small strip outside your own home, help a neighbour, imagine if everyone done a very small patch each!
We understand not everyone is able to manually remove weeds and that is why the Volunteer Weeding Group is here to help!
VOLUNTEER WEEDING GROUP
Our Volunteers are key to what we do. They choose their own hours and the locations that suit them best.Even a half an hour here and there really makes the world of a difference.
To be a Pesticide Free Balerno Volunteer:
•You don’t have to go to boring meetings
•You don’t have to commit to weekly days
•But …you do have to care about Health & the Environment !
​
Our Volunteer weeding Group is made up of like minded individuals from all walks of life, all ages, all abilities working towards creating a better environment for us all and for future generations.We illustrate that it is entirely possible to weed without harmful chemicals supporting Edinburgh Council introduce Safe Alternatives.
Benefits
•Helps encourage your council to stop the continued use of a controversial harmful chemicals to simply remove weeds
•Actively do something to help the Environment instead of just talking about it
•Help less able residents manage weeds outside their home without harmful chemicals
•Engage with local residents and find out how they feel and often how grateful they are when you weed their street
•FREE to join
•Spend time outdoors getting fresh air and Vitamin D
•Be part of a positive change / the solution rather than part of the pollution!
•Every contribution made by every person makes a difference to the health and environment of the community and inspires other communities to do likewise.
Why ‘leaving the weeds’ does not work
With the choice for councils between using Pesticides or safe alternatives for weed control we have to keep a clear message
‘Leaving the weeds' creates confusion and divides and limits community support.
It is important to remember the whole reason pesticides are used by our councils in the first place -the huge market for weed control and for many years, we have been convinced the only way to remove weeds is by using toxic chemicals …
Thankfully times and demands have changed. There is now a market for safe methods of weed removal to protect our health and the environment .
We noticed with other councils who ‘left the weeds’ a return to using glyphosate the following season, after weed complaints or cracked pavements etc
With the choice often between Glyphosate or safe alternatives to remove weeds in communities - we think we know what the bees would say!
Those individuals keen to return to chemicals and those who those do not agree with leaving the weeds have reasons to request a return to other methods -which usually means glyphosate…
We appreciate aims of encouraging biodiversity however the ‘leave the weeds’ message ultimately means a return to chemicals.
Therefore we encourage residents who want to ‘leave the weeds’ to do so , in their own private garden which supports biodiversity but does not upset others.
Leaving weeds in shared areas =Continued use of glyphosate = does not help biodiversity
Our birds and bees will thank us for this in the long run!
With Balerno having the highest number of weed complaints in Edinburgh the Council were bound with their duties and limited budgets, this sadly usually meant Glyphosate ...
In Balerno our first stage was to acknowledge and respect that the majority in our community still had concerns about getting the weeds removed on our streets and pavements but on the other hand some wanted the weeds to be left for biodiversity…
Ultimately we can all find ways to support crucial biodiversity BUT ending the use of glyphosate for weed removal is the crucial first step. ​
The goal of a weedkiller is to kill unwanted weed growth, to maintain appearance , safety and physical structure of an area
Majority of U.K. councils use weedkiller is an indication of the popularity and demand for desired effects.
Glyphosate Weedkiller presently used comes with unintended effects of killing more than just the weeds. Many feel this is an unacceptable threat to the natural environment and human health
Multevos Hot Water is 100% hot water which treats weeds safely and effectively without harmful chemicals
​
Benefits
•Pesticide Free
•Safeguards our waterways , soil and biodiversity
•Requires fewer treatments significantly less £/m²
•Multifunctional features removeing chewing gum /graffiti removal making it desirable for councils
•Can be used in all weathers unlike glyphosate
•Successfully used around the U.K. , Bury Council ,Cambridge University/Churchill College and Wetland Wildlife
Strimming equipment is already owned by most councils and can be used for simple , quick weedcontrol . Cutting down long unwanted grasses , nettles or hard to reach areas . Strimming has been reported by many councils as a very convenient Pesticide Free option to deal with unwanted weeds around the highly frequented areas like schools, parks , paths where quick safe solutions are often required .
​
Benefits
•Pesticide Free - Safe to use around humans and animals
•Quick Immediate results
•Most councils already own strimming equipment
•Council operators likely to have knowledge on how to use strimming equipment
•Accessible to hard to reach areas
•Only requires one operator
•Ideal for dealing with grassy / nettles weed areas
•Cost effective
