By JONATHON HOWARD
FINDING ways to deal with Noosa’s invasive weeds and grasses has raised many questions around the use of chemical sprays across the biosphere with some residents fearing the cost of chemical-related health impacts.
While several Noosa agricultural experts have defended the use of Roundup (active ingredient glyphosate) as harmless when applied according to the instructions, residents continue to call for alternatives to chemical sprays as a matter of public safety.
Noosa Council is now investigating whether a new chemical-free weed management program, known as “Weedtechnics” developed in Sydney, could be implemented to benefit the biosphere.
WeedTechnics uses steam instead of commonly used Roundup and other herbicides to treat weed overgrowth and evasive grasses.
Unlike other steam devices, WeedTechnics delivers the perfect amount of super heated water and wet steam to a spray nozzle that eradicates weeds. The weeds are mostly eradicated after two applications.
Local property maintenance business operator Paul Sommers, from Garden Warriors, is one of Australia’s licensees for WeedTechnics and has already partnered with Byron Shire Council to trial it on open spaces.
Speaking with Noosa Today, Mr Sommers said he saw WeedTechnics as being a perfect fit for Noosa.
“I think Noosa has a similar community focus to Byron Bay and there’s certainly a desire from the public to find alternatives to chemicals,” he said.
“The Byron Bay Shire Council has had an extremely proactive approach to the new technology in steam spraying, which is driven by members of the public wanting to move away from commonly used sprays.”
Mr Sommers said past steam spraying systems had failed to find a place in the market.
“The new designs and application means you only have to apply the steam twice to remove the invasive grass or weed for good,” he said.
Following the success of WeedTechnics in Byron Bay several Victorian councils have also introduced the steam devices, to both address community concerns and as a proactive trial measure.
Noosa Council’s parks leader said council was currently investigating the WeedTechnics system and was talking to other councils that had used them to determine their effectiveness.
“Council is committed to investigating alternate weed control methods and has conducted many trials using a number of natural, non-toxic products to eradicate weeds in parks and gardens,” she said.
“Around 12 years ago, council trialled two different hydrothermal weeding systems but both were found to be ineffective, only burning the foliage and not actually killing the weeds.
“Council also trialled a weed burning system with the same results, effective in burning the leaves but not killing the roots.
“So far none of these products are considered to be viable due to their ineffectiveness, their cost or number of repeat applications required.”
GIVE US YOUR VIEWS: Do you think Noosa Council should move towards chemical-free spraying across the shire to reduce weeds and invasive grasses?
