EU Set to Ban Glyphosate

[thegreatgardener]

I thought glyphosate became inactive when it touched the soil so how can it poison the soil if it does this?

Well this might not be true like other things commonly claimed in every day life.
When the ban comes into force there will be more detailed info on the subject about why it was banned.

[thegreatgardener]

[24hourgardener]

 I was under the impression that all claims made on products were strictly governed by the Pesticide Safety Directive and therefore must be legally accurate  :P

[MaggiePage]

I agree 24Hr Gardener, all products are governed by a very strict Pesticide Safety Directorate. They certainly cannot put things on the product labels which are not true, Glyphosate - if used in accordance with the labels will do no harm. The problem is when people are too bone idol to dispose of any left over or un used chemical properly! Just chuck it down the drain! Why not... after all it will probably just end up as tap water...... which we drink and brush our teeth using!! If only people could be a bit more sensible, then we could all be trusted to use products properly. So if you have ever rinsed out your watering-can after using a chemical, and chucked the washings down the drain or used a weedkiller on your patio and just sloshed it about letting it go down the soak away or drain - --  Thank you for making the art of having a beautiful weed free garden even harder than it need be.  :'(

[ACE]

They must have lost all the original findings if they need to test the residue again. This was done as I remember reading about it on a paper that was sent to me when I used to spray for a living.

I can understand them getting windy about unlicenced users which means the majority of you who are using the stuff quite legally at the moment. We would have to work out the dose per acre which depended on the type of weed, then record it with the weather information for the day, the date it was sprayed, how it was applied. In fact sometimes it took longer on the paperwork than it did doing the job.

Before I applied any herbicide/pesticide to any area I had to check if it had been done before in the last 5 years and what it was done with, because some of the older banned substances caused a lot of problems if there was a residue and the new stuff came in contact with it.

I was trained to a very high standard. High enough to train other people, so I am not speculating like tgg. Who I notice is trained in the art of membrane laying and raised beds. Not a real gardener in my eyes.

[thegreatgardener]

ace I am not speculating just referring to post on the bbc boards on subject and study on subject.
DDt was thought to be safe too but this was later found to be wrong.
Until the ban is formally announced we will not really understand reason behind it.

[Kea]

Are you sure that it is not GM glyphosate resistant crops that the EU is banning?

[thegreatgardener]

kea GMO glyphosate resistant crops are already banned in EU as all GMO's are.
But if they ban  glyphosate  it is back door way to prevent GMO glyphosate resistant crops from becoming legal after the ban on GMO's is lifted.

[Robert_Brenchley]

We've had people on the site whose idea of gardening was to spray everything with glyphosate, plant, and leave it for a few years till they got round to spraying again. There were allotments before it was invented, there will be allotments long after it's gone.

[shirlton]

 Wilkies are selling their glyphosphate at half price today. Not saying wether or not I got some cos it may start a riot.

[steve_cauthen]

The only reference I can find is a European Commission report on Glyphosate published 2002. It is long, complex and technical with much reference to EU directives, but essentially gives the chemical a clean bill of health (10% chance of mortality if you drink it neat!), but frequently stresses that any controls would be a matter for member states to legislate.

[Garden Manager]

Wow i didnt realise I was starting such a debate when I posted this little bit of news.

I sit (quite comfortably) on the fence on this issue. I respect those who use glyposate products as long as it is done safely and properly. I personaly only use it as a last resort. Quite franky whilst it is a labour saving way to remove weeds it isnt the quickest method. When you dig weeds out you can see the weed free results, wheras with weedkiller the weeds remain for a long time even after spraying. Even once the weeds are dead the corpses still have to be removed. So give me hand weeding any day. Far more satisfying IMO. Assuming you have the time, strength and good enough health to do it that is!

[cootuk]

http://deadsmall.com/3TU

This is the report from the UK Pesticides Safety Directorate on the proposed law to ban things like endochrine disruptors.

It seems the law may be changed from risks of residual levels in crops to banning any chemical which has certain health hazards regardless of exposure.

The EU also want to add extra things onto the legislation.
It appears glyphosate is on the list of chemicals that have a 5yr window in which to be substituted for alternative products before being banned - if the law is approved.

The real effects will be on commercial agriculture as the majority of current pest/weed controls look to be banned.

(I only joined this site to post this one message as I'm usually over on allotment.org.uk)

[asbean]

Welcome to A4A, cootuk - we are an amenable bunch  :) :) :) :)

[Kingfisher]

Well I know what I will do, I will not use any chemicles what so ever where ever I can, but my concern is that my lotty is on a slope, my neighber use all the chemicles he can get is hands on, I am trying to do the right thing but all his chemicles are draining down to mine, well if I used them I would be getting double or tripple the dose, we mess about with nature too much i think.

[jimtheworzel]

wats all the fuss  get your spades out and get cracking  as you all should know thers no easy way


dig for victory

[Melbourne12]

http://deadsmall.com/3TU

This is the report from the UK Pesticides Safety Directorate on the proposed law to ban things like endochrine disruptors.

It seems the law may be changed from risks of residual levels in crops to banning any chemical which has certain health hazards regardless of exposure.

The EU also want to add extra things onto the legislation.
It appears glyphosate is on the list of chemicals that have a 5yr window in which to be substituted for alternative products before being banned - if the law is approved.

The real effects will be on commercial agriculture as the majority of current pest/weed controls look to be banned.

(I only joined this site to post this one message as I'm usually over on allotment.org.uk)

That is extremely helpful - thank you.

Glyphosate is on the least likely to be banned list, so I'm not going to start hoarding it yet!

For those luddites who think that banning any "nasty chemicals" can only be a good thing, there's obviously a serious concern about the economic future of carrots, parsnips, and onions in British agriculture.

Still, Grimmway Farms in California and the like will be only too happy to supply, eh?

[jjt]

   I'd say there's a serious concern over the economic future of British agriculture full stop. Or indeed British anything. Uncle Sam ain't laughing either, he's catching a cold.
   Better a luddite than a blindly optimistic capitalist. Sorry to go off topic.

[Kea]

The only reference I can find is a European Commission report on Glyphosate published 2002. It is long, complex and technical with much reference to EU directives, but essentially gives the chemical a clean bill of health (10% chance of mortality if you drink it neat!), but frequently stresses that any controls would be a matter for member states to legislate.

They should ban diquat before they even think about banning glyphosate, it is many times more dangerous.