The Greens will end the use of glyphosate (Roundup) in highly frequented public areas and will introduce an integrated pest management strategy to greatly reduce its use across the Inner West Council.
Glyphosate is a chemical compound that has been used for weed control around the world since the 1970s. It works by blocking the synthesis of enzymes in plants, and was thought to be less harmful to humans and other animals than chemical alternatives.
Recent research has linked the use of glyphosate to cancers including non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which has led to lawsuits and the phasing out of the herbicide in several jurisdictions.
Glyphosate is commonly used across the Inner West Council. Since amalgamation in 2016, it has been reintroduced in areas where the former council had brought in non-chemical methods to control weeds. There is no requirement for the council to notify residents when or where it has been used even if it is being sprayed on parks, playgrounds, schools or childcare centres.
The Greens will end the use of glyphosate for weed management in highly frequented public areas. We will introduce an integrated pest management strategy, which involves:
- identifying and monitoring pests to determine whether intervention is needed
- evaluating the effectiveness of proposed control methods while minimising the risk to human and environmental health
- using non-chemical control methods where possible, including native plantings that repel weeds, steaming, slashing and manual weed removal.