Southwark Council has been criticised for continuing to use huge amounts of a pesticide that some claim could cause cancer, despite the health risks being well-publicised.
The council used 1,293 litres of glyphosate in 2020 and 1,360 litres the year before on its roads and estates, a Freedom of Information request by Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) revealed. That made Southwark the sixth-highest user of pesticide out of all London boroughs. Several local authorities in the capital have already stopped using pesticides, like Lambeth, and Hammersmith and Fulham.
Southwark said that it is going to cut pesticide use by 50 per cent this year, and wants to stop using it altogether. The council stopped using pesticides in 1995 and switched to manual weeding for the health of residents and council staff, according to Donnachadh McCarthy, former Liberal Democrat councillor and columnist for the News, who campaigned for the change.
But the borough started using pesticides again when the council was under Lib Dem/Conservative control in the 2000s – for cost reasons, Mr McCarthy said.
A council spokesperson said instead that Southwark stopped using pesticides on every kind of weed except Japanese knotweed and giant hogweed, which are very persistent.
Mr McCarthy has called on the council repeatedly to ditch pesticides since then, but to no avail.
Contacted for comment on the new figures, Mr McCarthy said: “It’s very disappointing that it did go backwards. Southwark was ahead of its time [when it originally stopped using glyphosate].
“I see [council staff] spraying along the footpath, and there are kids are playing right beside it. I find it extraordinary in this day and age.”
Shouldn’t the council play it safe and stop using glyphosate?
The dangers of glyphosate are disputed. The World Health Organisation and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have said it is probably linked to cancer, but the US Environmental Protection Agency said that there is no evidence that it causes cancer in humans if used properly.
German company Bayer has been ordered to pay out tens of millions of dollars after losing multiple lawsuits filed by people who believe its glyphosate brand Roundup was responsible for their cancer. Bayer maintains that its product is safe.
Meanwhile the London Assembly called on Mayor Sadiq Khan to stop glyphosate being sprayed on Greater London Authority and Transport for London land in 2019, and urge all London boroughs to do the same, citing the possible harmful side effects. Most London boroughs use glyphosate.
In February this year, the European Parliament called on glyphosate to be phased out within the next five years. The chemical’s current approval in the UK lasts until 2025.
The possible harms of glyphosate may not be limited to humans. Researchers from the university of Texas found in 2018 that the pesticide could be harmful to insects as well.
Mr Mccarthy added: “The impacts on environment are also problematic. It’s a huge problem and it needs to stop.”
Nick Mole from PAN UK said: “We are in the midst of a biodiversity crisis with species such as bees declining rapidly and pesticides named as a key driver. We also know that children are more vulnerable to the impacts of pesticides because their bodies are still developing.
“But despite these serious public health and environmental concerns, most London councils are routinely using chemical weedkillers for no other reason than keeping places looking ‘neat and tidy’.”
A Southwark spokesperson said: “We stopped using pesticides in parks and playgrounds in 1995, except for invasive weeds such as Japanese Knotweed and Giant Hogweed. These cannot currently be controlled by any other practical means.
“During the 2021 growing season we trialled the use of an alternative, non-chemical treatment to control weeds on streets and estates. Unfortunately, the alternative treatment failed to reduce weed growth in any significant way.
“However, we are determined to reduce the use of pesticides in Southwark. For the 2022 growing season we are cutting the use of pesticides on streets and estates by 50 per cent, as we work toward stopping its use altogether.”
Every council staff member who sprays pesticide wears the proper equipment and is full trained in line with government guidance, the spokesperson added.