Glyphosate Based Herbicides - Find a freedom of information request

Re: Herbicide Use - Requests for information under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and/or the Freedom of Information Act 2000

I am a resident of Spilsby in Lincolnshire. I write regarding Lincolnshire's use of glyphosate-based herbicides, about which I would like to know more.

Information Sought

I request the following information:

1.Which glyphosate-based herbicides[1] are currently used by or on behalf of the Council and/or on land owned by, managed by, or under the control of, the Council?

2.For the most recent 12-month period for which information is available, please could you tell me the amount and brand of each glyphosate-based herbicide in question, as well as the size of the area over which they were used.

3.Please could you explain the basis for (i) the Council's choice of particular product(s), and (ii) the Council's decision to use glyphosate-based herbicides rather than alternative methods.

Please could you provide me with copies of any policy or other document which informs that decision-making.

I understand that, if the Council uses, or instructs other to use, plant protection products (including glyphosate-based herbicides) then the Council is required by law[2] to ensure that[3]: all reasonable precautions are taken to protect human health and the environment; the application of the plant protection product is confined to the crop, land, produce, buildings, contents of buildings, materials or other areas intended to be treated; and when the product is used in places of heightened concern (which includes, among others, areas used by the public or vulnerable groups[4], areas in the close vicinity of healthcare facilities, and on or along roads, railway lines, very permeable surfaces, or other infrastructure close to surface water or groundwater) that the amount used and the frequency of use are as low as reasonably practicable.

4. Please explain how the Council ensures that it complies with the requirements set out above in paragraph 4, particularly in terms of operational decision-making by the Council?

5. Please provide me with copies of any policy or other document which informs the Council's decision-making in relation to compliance with the legal requirements set out in paragraph 4 above.

Please also provide copies of evidence of the Council's decision making over the past 12 months relating to the records of decisions taken to ensure the amount of plant protection products used and the frequency of use are as low as reasonably practicable.

[1] Defined to include products containing glyphosate

[2] Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012, Regulation 10

[3] Regulation 10(1)

[4] Defined to include 'persons needing specific consideration when assessing the acute and chronic health effects of plant protection products. These include pregnant and nursing women, the unborn, infants and children, the elderly and workers and residents subject to high pesticide exposure over the long term'.

1. The weed treatment product used by LCC's contractors in 2021 within the highway is Roundup Pro Vantage 480, a non-residual herbicide.

2. The County Council do not hold records of the amount of chemical applied to the highway nor the size of the area over which they were used. The herbicide is only applied to live weeds in the highway by a controlled droplet application with the equipment used ensuring drift does not occur during the process. It is not blanket sprayed over areas. The areas of highway concerned are footways and cycle tracks, in kerb channels, including outlet mouths and gully gratings, around all obstructions, street furniture, tree bases, traffic islands, on the back edge of the footway abutting walls and on all areas of block paved carriageways that are part of the adopted highway.

3. (i)The County Council does not choose the particular product used by our Contractors. They just have to comply with the specification set out in our Contract with them which is that they must use an approved herbicide.

(ii)Whilst the Council are satisfied that the use of Glyphosate is appropriate, alternative methods, including steam treatment and foam applications have been trialled and tested by this Authority but have proved to be less effective and more costly to date. We do, however, continue to work with our suppliers to look at alternative solutions within the industry.

4. The use of chemical herbicides is carefully controlled by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). All works and herbicides used shall be in accordance with the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986, the current edition of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations and Pesticides, Code of Practice for using plant protection products 2006 and take into account the Health and Safety Commission’s Approved Code of Practice on 'The safe use of pesticides for non-agricultural purposes'. Weed treatment within the highway is only carried out on paved surfaces not on verges etc. Within the highway, we currently use non-residual weed killers based on the active ingredient glyphosate. Glyphosate is only effective when in direct contact with the weeds and, on contact with soil, breaks down into harmless substances. Accordingly, Glyphosate is authorised to be used on areas open to the public.

The application of the herbicide by the Council is by a controlled droplet application with the equipment used ensuring drift does not occur during the process. It is not blanket sprayed over areas of footpath and our process ensures the amount of chemical used is limited to an absolute minimum. The herbicide is applied by trained and fully NPTC (National Proficiency Tests Council) certificated operators.

This is an essential part of our preventative maintenance regime and is carried out twice annually. The frequency has been reduced from three times to limit chemical usage whilst still preventing damage to footway etc. caused by weed growth.

5. Our weed treatment regime is set out in the Highways Infrastructure Asset Management Plan which is available on the LCC website.

See link below:

https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/downloads/file/1899/highways-infrastructure-asset-management-plan-2018