Petition details
Glyphosate - Herbicide
Glyphosate is now to be a poison used as a herbicide for eradicating unwanted plants. Glyphosate/Roundup is banned in 3 London boroughs, many more are undertaking to either reduce or are in the process of banning the product.
This Petition ran from 09/08/2019 to 03/09/2019 and has now finished.
70 people signed this Petition.
Council response
Thank you for your petition. The council aims to keep the borough’s streets and open spaces clear of weeds.
This is done through the use of hoes, suppressing weeds by mulching (covering the ground with a layer of leaf mulch from the previous season’s leaf fall), and weed killers (also known as herbicides).
We have been reducing our use of weed killers for three years. We don’t spray on a blanket basis in the borough’s open spaces or on its streets. Instead we apply the weed killer to individual weeds or limited areas, known as spot treatment. This is applied four times a year.
The council uses a weed killer called glyphosate. It’s the most effective and least expensive method available. It’s the only product proven to be effective in dealing with invasive and very damaging weeds such as Japanese Knotweed.
While there is some debate about the safety of glyphosate, all regulatory authorities have so far concluded that it does not pose an unacceptable risk to human health, the environment, or animals and plants it is not being targeted at. The European Union has approved its use until at least 2022 when it will carry out a review.
The European Food Safety Authority in 2015 concluded that glyphosate is ‘unlikely’ to cause cancer. While other bodies have disagreed with this their view is by no means definitive.
No London boroughs have completely banned glyphosate. Some have, like Tower Hamlets, reduced its use.
The safety of residents, staff and visitors is, of course, a priority. This is why we will continue to monitor the results of research on glyphosate and look for effective alternatives. We will also carry on working with other councils in London and beyond on ways of controlling weeds and alternatives to glyphosate.
We are proposing to commence two projects on with regards to highways and another relating to our public parks and open spaces that aim to provide a comprehensive review of the use of Glyphosate. The project will produce a detailed outcome report of all options for the control of weed operations without Glyphosate being used as the primary ingredient as well as a comprehensive options report to implement any agreed change by 1st October 2020.
Coporate Director Place, Ann Sutcliffe