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North Cowichan tries eco-friendly solutions to tackle weeds

You may notice foamy curbs, sidewalks, and traffic circles
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North Cowichan tries new environmentally friendly weed killer. (File photo)

You may notice foamy curbs, sidewalks, and traffic circles around North Cowichan over the coming weeks.

A press release from the municipality states that the foamy residue is from Foamstream, an environmentally friendly system that uses foam and heat to kill weeds with no harmful active ingredients.

“The product is designed to provide longer-lasting weed control quickly and easily, without any negative impacts to the environment, people, or pets,” according to the release.

Foamstream is a unique system that uses 99.7 per cent super-heated water and 0.3 per cent foam.

The foam acts as a thermal blanket to hold heat on the weeds long enough to effectively eradicate them.

The foam is 100 per cent biodegradable and made from natural and renewable plant oils (coconut, palm kernel and rapeseed) and sugars derived from potato, maize, and wheat.

“In addition to destroying existing weeds, the system also damages the roots and kills the seeds to prevent them from germinating, making it more difficult for weeds to re-establish themselves in treated areas,” the release said.

“Foamstream has been used elsewhere on the Island with positive results. This is the first year that North Cowichan is using the Foamstream system and we are looking forward to evaluating its results.”