The Green Party has welcome changes by Dublin City Council that will see alternatives to Glyphosate used for weed control on city streets from next year. Last August a San Francisco jury awarded $289 million dollars (€253 million) to a former school groundsman who claimed Monsanto’s popular Roundup weed killer contributed to his terminal cancer. The Green Party’s Councillor Ciarán Cuffe received the good news in a reply to a Council question that he received this morning. He said:“This announcement marks a significant step towards the wider use of alternatives to glyphosate for weed control in the city. From next year 5% of the weed removal contract in the north inner city must use alternatives to Monsanto’s Round-up or similar glyphosate-based products.“For some years now constituents had raised concerns about the widespread use of Glyphosate for weed control on streets and in parks and playgrounds around the city. Parents and grandparents don’t want their children or grand-children playing close to where these chemicals are used. I am pleased that alternatives to Roundup will now form a significant part of our contract, and I look forward to the phasing out of Glyphosate over time.“Killer chemicals should have no place in our solutions to weed control, and I hope that as new solutions are mainstreamed the costs of alternative methods of weed control will reduce. None of the alternatives are perfect, but with time I have no doubt that the costs will reduce and methods improve. I hope that other local authorities around Ireland now move in a similar direction.ENDS Note:Reply to Council Question pasted under:Question to Chief Executive Central Area Committee Meeting 11th December 2018Q32 Councillor Ciaran Cuffe Can the Area Manager report on the pilot program for alternatives to the use of (details supplied) outlining the various methods trialled and their respective costs Details: Glyphosate for weed control Reply Trials took place with three alternative methods of weed removal in the Central Area in 2018. The methods were:- a) A mechanical wire brush - This was effective at removing weeds but the trial had to be stopped as the machine was throwing stones and grit and we had safety concerns for passing pedestrians motorists and parked vehicles. b) Hot foam power wash - This method was effective at killing weeds but it also kills wildlife. Snails, centipedes, woodlice etc. were found dead on the test site after the trial. It is also very labour intensive and requires vehicular access to the work site which makes it a slow and expensive way of removing weeds in a city street scape. The foam took approximately ten minutes to dissolve so we had concerns about pedestrians slipping on the footpath while it remained on the surface. c) Acetic Acid (Vinegar) - This was the most effective way of killing weeds and can be applied by a quad bike or knapsack sprayer. The cost of buying acetic acid is four times more expensive than glyphosate which increases the cost of weed control on a city wide basis considerably A new tender is advertised, and the closing date is 22nd January 2019 to cover 95% of the area, the other 5% is to be covered by contractors using alternative methods.Issued and uploaded 11th December 2018