THANK YOU to everyone who continues to put pressure on our Council to change it’s policies on the use of this harmful chemical. We need to keep going and achieve a similar result for our streets.
Press release, Friday 7th August 2020
Lambeth Council says it has today (Friday) ended the use of
glyphosate on its housing estates, “effective immediately.”
“We have beeen phasing out our use of glyphosate across the board,
working towards ceasing to use the pesticide across all its services
by the time its new contracts for waste collection and street
cleansing begin in 2021″ says a council statement.
“The use of herbicides has a significant impact on the environment by
removing plants that are an important source of food for a variety of
native insects. “The council acknowledges that we are facing climate
and biodiversity crises and is committed to doing all it can to tackle
these.
“The use of glyphosate for routine weed management is now banned
across all parks and open spaces and on Lambeth housing estates, as
well as to treat weed growth in tree pits across the borough. “On top
of this, the council has cut its use to treat weeds on streets by a
third and continues to trial alternative methods.
“The way local councils are funded doesn’t usually allow for research
and development, but Lambeth is committed to investigating all
potential ways of ending its use of glyphosate and improving its
biodiversity
“Trials of alternative methods, such as hot foam treatments, are
ongoing, but they tend to have a separate set of severe negative
environmental impacts including huge amounts of wasted water. “We are
continuing to explore selective weeding and increased manual weeding
too as ways to control excessive weed growth.
“We also continue to offer residents the chance to group together and
opt their street out of the weed-spraying schedule, whilst taking
responsibility for keeping their street free of weeds until the new
service begins.”
Word from the Cabinet
Cllr Jennifer Brathwaite, Lambeth’s cabinet member for housing and
homelessness said: “One of my priorities since I took over this role
was to look at how we could quickly end the use of glyphosate on our
estates as part of our commitment to improving the borough’s
biodiversity.
“I am pleased that we have been able to do it and we will look to
suitable alternatives to ensure we keep our estates clean, tidy and
free of trip hazards as well as places where nature thrives.” (Source:
Lambeth council’s official website Love Lambeth)