South Wales council ‘reinvents’ its weed control

Neath & Port Talbot Council has seen a reduction in complaints from residents relating to weeds and an increase in treatment coverage after ‘reinventing’ its weed control approach with the support of Nomix.

The Local Authority decided to bring its weed control service back in-house in 2022, using Nomix as their preferred supplier. Nomix is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of weed control products and technical support services for amenity and industrial weed control. In addition to its range of high-quality weed control products, Nomix also offers qualified technical advice, TDC applicator servicing, operator training and more.

The two organisations have built a successful partnership based on transparency, support, and agility, with Adrian Moore and the Environmental Services team at the council seeing positive results over the last 18 months.

From initial consultations regarding costs, schedules and product selection, through to treatment advice and technological support regarding application tools, the Nomix team has been on hand to help achieve the best results possible for the people of Neath and Port Talbot.

Neath & Port Talbot Council’s Adrian Moore said: “When we took the weed spraying programme back in-house, we essentially had to reinvent ourselves and look at every element holistically.

“We had previous experience with Nomix and could certainly vouch for the quality of their product range.

“Over the last 18 months, since we began working with Nomix again, we have managed to increase our coverage from 75% to 93% which we are very happy about.”

“We are yet to do a full analysis on the number of complaints from the public regarding weed control over this timescale, but we are confident that they have gone down drastically.”

“This level of support and efficiency was crucial for us to make this switch a success; Nomix are more of a partner than a supplier and they take that role very seriously.”

The areas now being covered by this partnership include Port Talbot Valley, Port Talbot, Neath, Neath Valley, Pontardawe and Skewen, with Nomix Dual being used in the Spring and a second spray of Nomix Hilite scheduled for the Autumn.

There are currently a team of 18 operatives covering these six areas on a rotational basis, and they all have their PA1 & PA6 certificiation.

Previously, it had been a struggle to get one full spray completed per season, but this has been reduced to carrying out a full schedule in just a few weeks.

The use of Nomix Dual has helped to maintain a weed free environment for up to four months after application, therefore eliminating the need for a second application during the summer months.

Barrie Morgan, Area Sales Manager at Nomix Enviro, has conducted site visits with Adrian and his team to assess pre-season requirements, mid-season progress and schedules for further progress ahead of the autumn months.

Barrie said: “This is a great example of how the Nomix approach to weed control, from our products through to our customer service, stands out from the crowd.

“We’ve had fantastic feedback from Adrian and the team at Neath & Port Talbot Council and it’s been great to get out and meet them, whether that’s for training or consultation.

“We know that when a Local Authority comes to us, they are looking for more than a transactional supply of products; we really care about the feedback we receive and are always looking for ways to add extra value.”