Council to stop spraying parks with health risk weed killer

Campaigners want Hammersmith & Fulham to stop using pesticides

Mark Blunden @_MarkBlunden3 June 2016

A council has announced it is going to stop spraying its parks with weedkiller that has been linked with health fears.

It comes after nearly 500 people signed a petition urging Hammersmith & Fulham to stop spraying with glyphosate-based herbicides and today the council promised to switch to chemical-free alternatives, including foam and steam.

Now a growing campaign is urging more London councils to check which pesticides they are using for spraying around parks and schools.

Activists have raised cancer fears about glyphosate, which is used in pesticides, although there have been contradictory reports about its carcinogenic risks. The EU recently approved a 12- to 18-month extension on glyphosate’s use to allow time for further scientific studies.

The petition on the 38 Degrees website asked the council to “please ban the spraying of glyphosate herbicides on our streets and parks”.

It said: “It is not acceptable that ourselves, our children and the animals we share our community with are being routinely exposed to these chemicals, whether we like it or not.

“This is a matter of great importance for those of us who care about each other’s health and the health of our children, our cats, our dogs and all the flora and fauna of this city, of course including our beloved bees.”

Wesley Harcourt, the cabinet member for environment, said: “As is the case at almost all local authorities, glyphosate-based herbicides are currently used by Hammersmith & Fulham council contractors, Quadron and Serco.

“However, we have been working with contractors for some months to replace these with chemical-free alternatives, such as hot foam and steam.”

Nick Mole, policy officer at Pesticide Action Network UK, said: “We have been campaigning for a long time to make our towns and cities pesticide-free and it’s fantastic this is now happening in Hammersmith & Fulham.