Danish city to ban homeowners’ use of pesticides
The Local Denmark - [email protected]
Published: 26 Sep, 2017 CET.
Updated: Tue 26 Sep 2017 16:00 CET
Aalborg Council, home to Denmark’s fourth-largest city, will ban the use of pesticides in private yards and gardens, broadcaster DR reported this week.
The use of commercial pesticides like Monsanto’s Roundup will be banned because of health concerns, the chairman of Aalborg’s environmental committee said.
“We have unfortunately seen that the pesticides find their way into the groundwater, and that simply will not do,” Lasse Olsen told DR.
According to DR, homeowners will initially be asked to stop the use of pesticides voluntarily. Within three to four years, the council will put a formal ban in place. It has not yet been decided how the ban will be enforced.
The herbicide glyphosate is the key ingredient in Roundup, which is the most popular weed-killing spray in the world.
Earlier this week, France announced that it would phase out glyphosate completely by 2022 over fears that it may cause cancer. A government spokesman later walked back those comments and said that the country would not seek a ban but “is committed to seeing significant progress on all pesticides".
In the United States, hundreds of cancer patients have sued Monsanto, claiming that they contracted the disease through Roundup. The state of California announced earlier this year that it would add glyphosate to its list of cancer-causing chemicals.
Recent studies have also suggested a strong link between pesticide use and declining bee populations.
Comments
See Also
The use of commercial pesticides like Monsanto’s Roundup will be banned because of health concerns, the chairman of Aalborg’s environmental committee said.
“We have unfortunately seen that the pesticides find their way into the groundwater, and that simply will not do,” Lasse Olsen told DR.
According to DR, homeowners will initially be asked to stop the use of pesticides voluntarily. Within three to four years, the council will put a formal ban in place. It has not yet been decided how the ban will be enforced.
The herbicide glyphosate is the key ingredient in Roundup, which is the most popular weed-killing spray in the world.
Earlier this week, France announced that it would phase out glyphosate completely by 2022 over fears that it may cause cancer. A government spokesman later walked back those comments and said that the country would not seek a ban but “is committed to seeing significant progress on all pesticides".
In the United States, hundreds of cancer patients have sued Monsanto, claiming that they contracted the disease through Roundup. The state of California announced earlier this year that it would add glyphosate to its list of cancer-causing chemicals.
Recent studies have also suggested a strong link between pesticide use and declining bee populations.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.