Content

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