New toys to combat weeds

GEORGE NEWS - George Parks and Recreation division took ownership of two brand-new herbicide trailers which will be used for the spraying of granule and liquid herbicide across the municipal area, including Wilderness and Herold's Bay.

"The 1 000-litre capacity per trailer will provide time-saving and improve efficiency for the parks team, reducing time wasted on refill trips for the smaller capacity individual pumps being used currently," said senior manager of Environmental Services Sivuyile Mtila.

"The existing smaller pumps will now be repurposed and given to our community worker cleaning project to use as and when required. This will greatly improve their cleaning efforts in areas where not only illegal dumping but also weeds are a persistent problem."

George Municipality currently uses a combination granular and liquid herbicide, but is working towards changing over completely to liquid herbicide. This will require less maintenance, but offer the same soil action capability of granular forms.

"These herbicides are targeted at specific vegetation groups at specific mix ratios to enable the municipality to control a wide spectrum of annual and perennial broad-leaf weeds and grasses in urban areas," said Mtila.

"Where homeowners have gone the extra mile and planted their sidewalks decoratively and/or continue to maintain the sidewalk, the Department of Parks and Recreation is cautious not to disturb or spray in these areas, within reason, as sidewalks are by rights intended for pedestrians and suitable space should always be available for safe pedestrian movement."

The 1 000-litre capacity per trailer will save time and improve efficiency for the parks team.