Half of UK councils still use pesticides in public places, research finds | Pesticides

More than half of the advice in the United Kingdom continue to use pesticides in parks, playgrounds, sidewalks, playgrounds and accommodation, research revealed on Wednesday.

But more and more, local authorities take measures to end or reduce their use of pesticides, according to research from the Pesticide Action Network.

The pesticide most used by local authorities is the weeding glyphosate, which has been linked to cancer. Pesticides’ overuse has also been linked to major fauna declines, including birds, bees and hedgehogs.

Pan sent requests for freedom of information to the United Kingdom’s advice and obtained answers over 90%. Of the 368 local authorities who responded, 165 or 45% took measures to end or reduce their use of pesticides.

Nick Mole, a policies director at Pan Uk, said: “Although there is still work to do, this survey shows that the Pesticide without a pesticide movement. Ten years ago, no one even knew that pesticides were used in villages, cities and cities. We now have more than 100 tips to take measures to protect the health of residents, fauna and pets. ”

Pan published the survey on Wednesday which showed that the public supported measures to reduce or end the use of pesticides in public places. Two thirds of those questioned (65%) agreed that “”Schools, parks, playgrounds and other public spaces in their region should be without pesticides ”, with a third (33%) being strongly agree.

Research has shown that some tips were doing better than others to put an end to the use of pesticides.

Among the advice that responded, almost half (47%) said they had not used pesticides on playgrounds; About a third (34%) kept cemeteries without pesticides and approximately a quarter (26%) managed their parks and green spaces without pesticides.

London opens the way in the movement to have public spaces without pesticides, which are already the norm in Paris. Among the 33 councils in the capital, 23 said they had ended their use of pesticides or moved in this direction.

“The British public is largely next to it and countries like France and Denmark – which have prohibited the use of urban pesticides nationally – show every day that we simply do not need chemicals to maintain public spaces,” said Mole.

The councils said that they used 354 tonnes of pesticides in 2024. It was four times the figure of government data of 84 tonnes of pesticides used by local authorities, the research suggested.

A number of advice has already prohibited pesticides, including Lampeth, Glastonbury and Lewes. The Brighton and Hove Council prohibited pesticides in 2019, but in 2024, after complaints concerning weeds (56, according to later reports), announced that it would use the application of glyphosate controlled droplets in specific areas and reduced use to the lowest as possible.

A bill, tabled by the Green MP Siân Berry, goes through the Parliament to end the use of pesticides in public spaces.