Burnham: Plea to clear floating plant (From Maldon and Burnham Standard)
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Burnham: Plea to clear floating plant
1:00pm Tuesday 4th December 2012 in Local News
Burnham: Plea to clear floating plant
A Burnham dog walker is urging the council to clear a nuisance plant for fear it could endanger pets and children.
Retired Dennis Price, 59, of Hornet Way, Burnham, is concerned about the huge mass of floating pennywort that appears to be flourishing on the water in the town’s Riverside Park.
Mr Price initially contacted the Environment Agency about his concerns and was re-directed to Maldon District Council.
A district council spokesman said: “The floating pennywort got into some of the watercourses at Riverside Park many years ago - we think by someone releasing it from a garden pond.
“The council periodically removes as much as it can but unless every last fragment is removed it quickly grows back."
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Opsiomath says...
4:17pm Tue 4 Dec 12
Suggest in warm/dry weather you spray Roundup Pro Biactive - one of the few herbicides approved for this type of use and British Waterways themselves use this product as it presents the least ecotoxic profile.
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup Pro Biactive, controls weeds by blocking the plant's enzyme system. These enzymes do not occur in humans, animals, birds or fish consequently the World Health Organisation rates glyphosate, as 'practically non-toxic', the lowest classification available.
However you need to promptly treat any re-growth until the weed is completely eradicated