Opt out scheme for weeds

About the opt out scheme

We're running an opt out scheme for street weeding this year. 

This is for residents who would prefer to manually remove the weeds on their street rather than have them treated with a controlled-droplet glyphosate application. Although this method uses substantially less chemical than traditional spray methods, we understand that some people would prefer to remove the weeds themselves rather than using any chemicals.

If there are no weeds outside your property then no treatment will be required. You can remove weeds from outside your property, but this would not be participating in a street wide opt out programme. 

We can only accept opt-outs from entire roads or streets. We are unable to remove individual houses or sections of a street from the treatment due to the difficulties with implementation.

You can use the weed management map to see which roads are being treated across the city. 

Streets that can take part in the opt out

To take part in the opt out your street must:

• be in a 20mph zone - to ensure the work can be carried out safely
• have up to approximately 100 houses - we do not include longer streets because the scheme becomes too complex to manage

If you're not sure whether your street is eligible to opt out, our Volunteer Coordinator will do a site visit and give you some guidance around how many volunteers might be needed to manage the growth on the pavements by hand. 

How the opt out works 

Other residents in your street need to show general support and there needs to be enough people to make it viable.  Volunteers need to be over 18 years of age. You will need a ‘lead volunteer’ who will take on key tasks.  

The Lead Volunteer will be provided with safety information and guidelines for weeding roads. They will need to:

• provide basic tool talks, and health and safety briefings for other volunteers
• be responsible for a sign in sheet. 
• request tools and PPE (such as high viz vests)
• liaise with the Volunteer Coordinator to arrange delivery, and collection, of bags of green waste

Every volunteer who signs the sign in sheet agrees to follow the relevant risk assessments and method statements as well as some other basic information. 

If you have a garden waste collection you can put the green waste from the weed clearance in your bin, so long as it fits.

How often you need to remove the weeds

You will need to commit to at least three rounds of weed removal. Footways need to be kept clear, and any weeds causing trip hazards or access issues must be removed immediately. 

We will notify you of the timeframe for when we will monitor your road. If your road is not maintained to our standard, we will apply the standard treatment in line with other roads who have not opted out.