Glyphosate Ban in Balerno (Scotland)

28 May 2023

Residents of Balerno took matters in to their own hands when it came to a harmful chemical, Glyphosate, being used to eradicate invasive weeds in their community. What started with a single request against glyphosate being sprayed outside their house, resulted in 20 other houses making the same decision. With the whole street working together to unanimously manually remove weeds than to risk being exposed to Glyphosate.

According to the International Agency of Research for Cancer (IARC) Glyphosate is said to be carcinogenic causing cancers & tumours in humans. It is already banned in Europe & now many Councils are choosing against using Glyphosate in public places.

A recent senior research Doctor in the USA has also linked Glyphosate to the massive increase in autism in children.

Every community can become Pesticide Free ‘Wildlife Trust’

https://youtu.be/QB9NcSNEtxQ

This phenomenal community support has spurred other areas of Scotland to follow. A clear example of this was demonstrated by Jessica Windsor, who was inspired by the overwhelming success of the campaign ‘Pesticide free Balerno’ she too started a campaign against Pesticides usage in Edinburgh. The petition to ban Glyphosate in public areas in Edinburgh was put into action. She has since then created an awareness & education about the harmful effects of Glyphosate in in humans, animals & insects in the environment.

This phenomenal community support has spurred other areas of Scotland to follow. A petition to stop Edinburgh spraying Glyphosate on our city’s streets has been the inspiration for a similar campaign in Balerno and fledgling movements in Portobello.

Jessica Windsor began the Pesticide Free Edinburgh campaign. She explained her view that pesticide use has multiple harmful effects on human and animal health causing environmental pollution.

A ground breaking new alternative non-chemical treatments are available.

Japanese Knotweed Agency is the first and currently only entity that offers a non-chemical Thermo-Electrical treatment against Japanese Knotweed. Delivering up to 5000 volts directly to the weed stalks and crowns, sends a massive destructive shock throughout the weed effectively boiling it in situ and it should decompose and leave no trace. It may take several treatments as would chemical treatment, but with thermo-electrical treatment, the ground is left 100% safe and chemical free. Treatment does not affect the ground or land or other foliage next to the treated weed.

Japanese Knotweed Agency will now offer this service across England and Wales throughout 2023 and beyond.

Treatment of weeds such as Japanese Knotweed can now be done safely, and without the use of Glyphosates, protecting our environments and the health of children and adults and wildlife, and is a massive step forwards that has been needed for decades in line with Europe.

Read more about the Japanese Knotweed Agency and their Thermo-Electric eradication on our website: https://japaneseknotweedagency.co.uk/rootwave/thermo-electrical-treatment/

Or call us freephone 03335 777 888

Glyphosate Ban in Hexham

15 January 2023

Hexham Council calls for toxic weed killer to be banned

THE use of potentially toxic weed killer in streets, parks and cemeteries is “contributing to the death of humanity”, a councillor has claimed.

Hexham Town Council currently uses repellent containing Glyphosate, the chemical substance which has been linked to cancer, and can have an adverse effect on wildlife.

The council is set to phase out the use of the weed killer as it urgently seeks to find a safer alternative.

But at the council’s meeting on Monday, which took place via a live video conference, Coun. John Ord called for use of the product to be banned immediately.

He said: “By spraying this poison around the streets and public spaces you are not helping the public keep safe.

“There is evidence to show that you can get cancer from this. It should not be used in public spaces.

“We are in the middle of this huge extinction and in the end it will be humans. We are contributing to the death of humanity.”

The council agreed to back a proposal from Coun. Tom Gillanders, to phase out the use of the weed killer while searching for a more environmentally friendly replacement.

Chairing the meeting, Hexham’s mayor, Coun. Bob Hull said the council would have to work closely alongside other organisations to ensure a joined-up approach across to the town.

He added: “We accept the proposal and look to a phased withdrawal, working with Northumberland County Council and Karbon Homes.”

After the meeting, members of the campaign group Extinction Rebellion Tynedale urged swift action.

Nick Morphet, who ran as the Green Party candidate at last year’s General Election, said: “Non-chemical alternatives exist, and many councils have already found them to be effective.

“Should we be killing these plants at all? Wild plants and flowers are as beautiful and fascinating as they are essential to a healthy environment. Unless there is a good reason to control them, they should be cherished and allowed to thrive.”

MAKE YOURSELVES AWARE THAT ALTERNATIVES TO USING GLYPHOSATE ARE AVAILABLE IN MOST CIRUMSTANCES, EVEN AGAINST JAPANESE KNOTWEED

Japanese Knotweed Agency is the first and currently only entity that offers a non-chemical Thermo-Electrical treatment

against Japanese Knotweed.

Delivering up to 5000 volts directly to the weed stalks and crowns, sends a massive destructive shock throughout the weed effectively boiling it in situ and it should decompose and leave no trace. It may take several treatments as would chemical treatment, but with thermo-electrical treatment, the ground is left 100% safe and chemical free. Treatment does not affect the ground or land or other foliage next to the treated weed.

Japanese Knotweed Agency will now offer this service across England and Wales throughout 2023 and beyond.

Treatment of weeds such as Japanese Knotweed can now be done safely, and without the use of Glyphosates, protecting our environments and the health of children and adults and wildlife, and is a massive step forward that has been needed for decades in line with Europe.

Read more about the Japanese Knotweed Agency and their Thermo-Electric eradication on our website: https://japaneseknotweedagency.co.uk/rootwave/thermo-electrical-treatment/

Or call us freephone 03335 777 888

https://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/news/18508605.calls-toxic-weed-killer-banned/

https://thebristolcable.org/2021/08/a-toxic-chemical-weedkiller-glyphosate-being-sprayed-bristol-despite-pledges-progress-is-being-made-city-council/

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/marvin-rees-deliver-your-promise-to-ban-glyphosate-in-bristol

https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/pressure-on-bristol-city-council-to-ban-toxic-weed-killer/

Colchester ends the use of glyphosate weedkillers

https://colchestergreenparty.co.uk/our-glyphosate-report/

https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/19999952.colchester-borough-homes-bans-use-harmful-weed-killer/

JAPANESE KNOTWEED AGENCY NATIONAL REGISTER – HAVE A SEARCH AND SEE IF JAPANESE KNOTWEED HAS BEEN REPORTED NEAR YOUR HOME

Further Information:

Pesticides are particularly harmful to bees, studies show.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/sep/24/monsanto-weedkiller-harms-bees-research-finds-

Vital soil organisms being harmed by pesticides

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2021.643847/full

Countries that have banned Glyphosate

https://japaneseknotweedagency.co.uk/category/glyphosate-ban-europe/

Alternative Weed control solutions

https://www.pan-uk.org/alternatives-to-herbicides-a-new-guide/

https://japaneseknotweedagency.co.uk/rootwave/thermo-electrical-treatment/

Glyphosate Ban in Guildford

15 January 2023

Guildford votes to become a Pesticide Free Town 9 December 2021

Last night, a debate took place in Guildford’s council chambers triggered by our petition calling for Guildford to become a Pesticide Free Town. GEF is delighted to announce that following a speech by Helen Harris and Frances Rollin from our Biodiversity group as well as Nick Mole from Pesticide Action Network (PAN), Councillors voted unanimously to support the motion.

In taking this decision, Guildford joins over 60 other cities, towns and boroughs in the UK that are working to phase out their use of pesticides.

GEF looks forward to working with the Council and with PAN to put this great result into practice!

Find out why it’s so important we all stop using pesticides here: https://www.pan-uk.org/

As a GEF member, please support us by stopping using all pesticides in your garden or allotment, and encouraging your neighbours to do the same: https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/how-make-your-garden-chemical-free-zone

Every year, our pavements, streets, parks, playgrounds and other open spaces in Guildford are sprayed with pesticides. In particular, glyphosate is used across the borough on a regular basis. Inevitably, we as Guildford residents come into contact with these pesticides, as do our children, pets and local wildlife.

Pesticides (including glyphosate) have been linked to an array of health problems, from neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, cancers such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma to autism in children. Vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women and the elderly are most at risk of being affected.

As well as damaging human health, pesticides harm urban biodiversity. Pesticides are key contributors to the dramatic reductions in insects such as bees and other pollinators. Glyphosate has been shown to affect bees’ ability to navigate, their sleep, larval development and immunity to deadly infections (1). Glyphosate also kills flowering plants that bees and other insects rely on. This reduction in pollinators has far-reaching consequences for both wildlife and people.

Pesticides contaminate our water supply and harm aquatic life. They also poison our soils and harm soil invertebrates such as worms.

Urban pesticide use is unnecessary. Many towns and cities around the world have banned them (3). Pesticides are banned in all green public spaces across the whole of France. Copenhagen and Seattle manage their public spaces without pesticides. Councils across the UK are showing it can be done too with over 60 councils now implementing programs to phase out their use. Locally, Waverley borough, Petersfield and Chichester have all committed to phase out pesticides whilst trialing alternatives.

Well tested, cost effective and safe non-chemical alternatives to pesticides exist and are already being used in other towns locally (4). Using alternatives, or simply leaving some weeds in place to flower (where they do not cause a hazard) would have a positive impact on biodiversity and human health in Guildford.

We are asking Guildford Borough Council to phase out the use of pesticides, including glyphosate, in Guildford.

MAKE YOURSELVES AWARE THAT ALTERNATIVES TO USING GLYPHOSATE ARE AVAILABLE IN MOST CIRUMSTANCES, EVEN AGAINST JAPANESE KNOTWEED

Japanese Knotweed Agency is the first and currently only entity that offers a non-chemical Thermo-Electrical treatment

against Japanese Knotweed.

Japanese Knotweed Agency will now offer this service across England and Wales throughout 2023 and beyond.

Treatment of weeds such as Japanese Knotweed can now be done safely, and without the use of Glyphosates, protecting our environments and the health of children and adults and wildlife, and is a massive step forward that has been needed for decades in line with Europe.

Read more about the Japanese Knotweed Agency and their Thermo-Electric eradication on our website: https://japaneseknotweedagency.co.uk/rootwave/thermo-electrical-treatment/

Or call us freephone 03335 777 888

https://thebristolcable.org/2021/08/a-toxic-chemical-weedkiller-glyphosate-being-sprayed-bristol-despite-pledges-progress-is-being-made-city-council/

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/marvin-rees-deliver-your-promise-to-ban-glyphosate-in-bristol

https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/pressure-on-bristol-city-council-to-ban-toxic-weed-killer/

Glyphosate Ban in Frome

15 January 2023

https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/ftc-bans-glyphosate-with-immediate-effect-following-fresh-approach-at-last-nights-council-meeting/

In July 2016 Frome Town Council Banned Glyphosate with immediate effect following fresh approach at last night meeting.

Frome Town Council has broken from tradition and banned the ‘top table’ & extended an invitation to attend a council meeting. They encouraged local residents to get involved in decision making alongside Cllrs each other and discussed the issues on the agenda. People shared their views – and collective decisions were made.

The topic for discussion was the ever more controversial use of the chemical pesticide called Glyphosate. Although this weed-killer commonly known as Roundup by many gardeners who regularly use it, there are suspected health risks associated with glyphosate. According to the International Agency of Research for Cancer (IARC) Glyphosate is said to be carcinogenic causing cancers & tumours in humans. It is already banned in Europe & now many Councils are choosing against using Glyphosate in public places. After a good discussion, it was decided that FTC will not use glyphosate in future, and agreed to talk to Mendip District Council & Somerset County Council about their use of glyphosate in Frome.

We also agreed to discuss with the allotment association and neighbouring parishes their use of glyphosate in future.

Feedback from the meeting was very positive, with most people preferring this informal approach.

MAKE YOURSELVES AWARE THAT ALTERNATIVES TO USING GLYPHOSATE ARE AVAILABLE IN MOST CIRUMSTANCES, EVEN AGAINST JAPANESE KNOTWEED

Japanese Knotweed Agency is the first and currently only entity that offers a non-chemical Thermo-Electrical treatment against Japanese Knotweed.

Japanese Knotweed Agency will now offer this service across England and Wales throughout 2023 and beyond.

Treatment of weeds such as Japanese Knotweed can now be done safely, and without the use of Glyphosates, protecting our environments and the health of children and adults and wildlife, and is a massive step forward that has been needed for decades in line with Europe.

Read more about the Japanese Knotweed Agency and their Thermo-Electric eradication on our website: https://japaneseknotweedagency.co.uk/rootwave/thermo-electrical-treatment/

Or call us freephone 03335 777 888

https://thebristolcable.org/2021/08/a-toxic-chemical-weedkiller-glyphosate-being-sprayed-bristol-despite-pledges-progress-is-being-made-city-council/

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/marvin-rees-deliver-your-promise-to-ban-glyphosate-in-bristol

https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/pressure-on-bristol-city-council-to-ban-toxic-weed-killer/