Agenda item
Green Motion - Reduce Glyphosate to Zero Now
Hackney Council
notes:
1. The use of herbicides has a significant impact on the environment by removing plants that are an important food source for a wide variety of native insects. Pesticide product mixtures have also been shown to be toxic to bees and earthworms. There is also a risk of runoff from hard surfaces into waterways, putting aquatic ecosystems at risk. We not only face a climate emergency, we also face the related emergency of collapsing biodiversity that is increasingly referred to as the ‘sixth mass extinction’ (1):
2. That 99% of pesticides are made from fossil fuels (2). Furthermore, pesticides exacerbate the climate emergency throughout their lifecycle via manufacturing, packaging, transportation, application, and even through environmental degradation and disposal;
3. There is a growing body of scientific evidence showing a link between glyphosate exposure and an increased risk of cancer; the World Health Organisation (WHO) deemed glyphosate a ‘probable carcinogen’ (3). It has been also shown to worsen chronic conditions such as asthma, and particularly affects children and pregnant people. In addition, it poses a health hazard to workers who spray Hackney’s streets.
4.
The spraying of glyphosate in Hackney is causing concern among
residents and elected representatives about its potential harmful
effects on children, animals, wildlife and biodiversity on our
streets, housing estates and parks;
The contracting staff who carry out this work
need to be protected from harm;
5. The Mayor of London’s commitment in the Environment Strategy to “reduce the use of pesticides and peat-based products, such as compost”;
6. The work of Transport for London (TfL) with suppliers and contractors to explore safer alternatives such as hot foam, for essential vegetation management and weed control.
7. Glyphosate, the most used herbicide was narrowly relicensed in the EU with the condition that Member States “minimize the use in public spaces, such as parks, public playgrounds and gardens.”
Hackney Council further notes:
8.
The work of the council to date in reducing the use of glyphosate
with a 50% reduction in on-street spraying against 2017
levels.
Hackney Council has
demonstrated:
9. A commitment to further reducing spraying across the borough, including a total cessation of spraying in Hackney’s Town centres, by removing weeds by hand; a successful year-long pilot for more than 200 out of a total 237 green areas across Hackney’s housing estates which will now go glyphosate-free permanently, with an intention to upscale to all estate-based green areas; a change in how the council sprays, from operatives mounted on vehicles to spot-spraying with knapsacks; a no-spray 10x Green area around Daubeney Road to explore whether a no-spray approach is more beneficial to biodiversity by avoiding the removal of plants that support insect populations. These changes have been well received by the public.
The Council acknowledges:
10.Several councils around the
country have gone fully glyphosate-free including in London. The
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham was the first council in
London to cease the use of glyphosate, to support biodiversity and
protect habitat against any long-term chemical effect by using
chemical-free weedkillers, such as hot
foam and hot steam. Lambeth and Westminster have also gone
pesticide-free and are rolling out programmes for increased
biodiversity. Lambeth has a community weeding scheme which
encourages residents to leave some annual plants to grow, as well
as other initiatives, and Westminster is developing a new
‘Greening Project’.
11.Where there is a duty to eradicate Japanese Knotweed because of risk to critical infrastructure or mobility issues risking residents’ safety, then glyphosate may be used until an acceptable non-chemical alternative becomes available. But its use should be limited to stem injection rather than spraying.
The Council resolves to:
12.Educate residents in the way that weeds are actually ‘pavement plants’ (4) and a much needed source of biodiversity in the city, by maintaining regular communications in all appropriate council forums and on estates, as well as with biodiversity events and workshops for residents if/where financially feasible;
13.Bring forward an action plan which takes into consideration technical and financial concerns and cost-saving opportunities (5), including a timetable for a complete phase-out of the spraying of glyphosate and any other pesticides, substituting them with non-chemical alternative weed management methods including leaving areas for biodiversity in all council operations.
14.Adopt a clear policy for the council’s weed management strategy which details a phase-out plan and timetable.
15.To engage with the
Pesticide-Free London Leaders Network and use this space to create
and keep to a clear phase-out plan, as well as share learnings with
other councils in the network.
Proposer: Cllr Alastair Binnie-Lubbock
Seconder: Cllr Zoë Garbett
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52881831
https://www.pan-uk.org/pesticides-and-the-climate-crisis/
https://www.iarc.who.int/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MonographVolume112-1.pdf
https://issuu.com/pan-uk/docs/greener_cities_-_a_guide_to_our_pavement_plants?fr=sYjY5OTExOTMxNQ
https://www.pan-uk.org/site/wp-content/uploads/Cost-saving-approaches-to-going-pesticide-free.pdf
Decision:
The Labour Amendments to the Motion were Carried
This Council notes:
1. The use of herbicides has a significant impact on the environment by
removing plants that are an important food source for a wide variety of native insects. Pesticide product mixtures have also been shown to be toxic to bees and earthworms. There is also a risk of runoff from hard surfaces into waterways, putting aquatic ecosystems at risk. We not only face a climate emergency, we also face the related emergency of collapsing biodiversity that is increasingly referred to as the ‘sixth mass extinction’ (1):
2. That 99% of pesticides are made from fossil fuels (2). Furthermore, pesticides exacerbate the climate emergency throughout their lifecycle via manufacturing, packaging, transportation, application, and even through environmental degradation and disposal;
3. There is a growing body of scientific evidence showing a link between
glyphosate exposure and an increased risk of cancer; the World Health
Organisation (WHO) deemed glyphosate a ‘probable carcinogen’ (3). It has been also shown to worsen chronic conditions such as asthma, and
particularly affects children and pregnant people. In addition, it poses a health hazard to workers who spray Hackney’s streets.
4. The spraying of glyphosate in Hackney is causing concern among residents and elected representatives about its potential harmful effects on children, animals, wildlife and biodiversity on our streets, housing estates and parks;
5. The contracting staff who carry out this work need to be protected from harm, which is of utmost importance to the council and is why contractors carry out specialist training and wear PPE;
6. The Mayor of London’s commitment in the Environment Strategy to “reduce the use of pesticides and peat-based products, such as compost”;
7. The work of Transport for London (TfL) with suppliers and contractors to
explore safer alternatives such as hot foam, for essential vegetation
management and weed control.
8. Glyphosate, the most used herbicide was narrowly relicensed in the EU with the condition that Member States “minimize the use in public spaces, such as parks, public playgrounds and gardens.”
Hackney Council further notes:
9. The work of the council to date in reducing the use of glyphosate with a 50% reduction in on-street spraying against 2017 levels.
10. That Hackney Council’s Environmental Services conducted a trial using
pelargonic acid also known as fatty acid, a natural herbicide, but found that this product does not effectively kill the plant root system.
11. The Council’s Housing Grounds Maintenance Service is responsible for the maintenance of 247 housing estates green areas covering approximately 73 hectares, and uses glyphosate to treat invasive species only - in 2022 the Service only used 0.28 litres for this purpose.
12. The Council’s Parks and Green Spaces Service is responsible for the
maintenance of 58 sites totalling some 282 hectares, and uses glyphosate to treat invasive species only - in 2022 the Service only used 0.8 Litres for this purpose.
13. That Hackney Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport has signed the Pesticide Free Town pledge.
Hackney Council has demonstrated:
14. A commitment to further reducing spraying across the borough, including a total cessation of spraying in Hackney’s Town centres, by removing weeds by hand; a successful year-long pilot for more than 200 out of a total 237 green areas across Hackney’s housing estates which will now go glyphosate-free permanently, with an intention to upscale to all estate-based green areas; a change in how the council sprays, from operatives mounted on vehicles to spot-spraying with knapsacks; a no-spray 10x Green area around Daubeney Road to explore whether a no-spray approach is more beneficial to biodiversity by avoiding the removal of plants that support insect populations. These changes have been well received by the public.
The Council acknowledges:
15. Several councils around the country have gone fully glyphosate-free including in London. The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham was the first council in London to cease the use of glyphosate, to support biodiversity and protect habitat against any long-term chemical effect by using chemical-free weedkillers, such as hot foam and hot steam, although the borough do still use it against invasive species. Lambeth and Westminster have also gone pesticide-free and are rolling out programmes for increased biodiversity. Lambeth has a community weeding scheme which encourages residents to leave some annual plants to grow, as well as other initiatives, and Westminster is developing a new ‘Greening Project’.
16. That some councils, such as Brighton and Hove, have had to return to using glyphosate following many formal complaints by the public about the uncontrolled growth of weeds on pavements and other public footpaths.
17. Where there is a duty to eradicate Japanese Knotweed because of risk to critical infrastructure or mobility issues risking residents’ safety, then
glyphosate may be used until an acceptable non-chemical alternative
becomes available. But its use should be limited to stem injection rather than spraying.
18. That Hackney Council’s administration committed in their manifesto to extend the Council’s commitment to weedkiller-free zones to reduce the use of Harmful weedkillers and help increase the biodiversity of plants and flowers.
The Council resolves to:
19. Investigate the best way to educate residents in the way that weeds are
actually ‘pavement plants’ (4) and a much needed source of biodiversity in the city. This could take the form of maintaining regular communications in all appropriate council forums and on estates, as well as with biodiversity events and workshops for residents if/where financially feasible;
20. Consider bringing forward an action plan which takes into consideration
technical and financial concerns and cost-saving opportunities (5), including a timetable for a complete phase-out of the spraying of glyphosate and any other pesticides, substituting them with non-chemical alternative weed management methods including leaving areas for biodiversity in all council operations.
21. Ask the Cabinet Member to consider adopting a clear policy for the council’s weed management strategy which details a phase-out plan and timetable.
22. To engage with organisations working to reduce the use of pesticides, such as the Pesticide-Free London Leaders Network, to work towards developing a clear phase-out plan, as well as share learnings with other councils in the network.
Proposer: Cllr Mete Coban
Seconder: Cllr Kam Adams