‘Ridding streets of weeds is more work without herbicides’
STATES Works has admitted that getting rid of weeds on the streets of Guernsey without using herbicide requires more work, but its senior manager said environmental sustainability was the bigger picture.
It follows an objection to a forthcoming ban on glyphosate from former Horticulture Committee president John Langlois, who wrote to all States members last week warning that St Peter Port had become ‘a shabby mess’ since the States stopped using it and would therefore be less appealing to tourists.
States Works confirmed that it had stopped using glyphosate as a weed suppressant at the end of 2020 in all its work across the island.
Its land management team has continued with manual and mechanical weed management methods, as well as the use of acetic acid, and its sweepers have also been fitted with improved brushes for use on the highways network.
‘There is no getting away from it, this type of weed management requires greater co-ordination and manual intervention, but as part of the bigger picture it is environmentally sustainable and promotes biodiversity and conservation,’ said States Works’ senior manager Mark Torode.
A spokeswoman for States Works said that studies had suggested low toxicity levels on honeybees, bumblebees and solitary bees resulting from the use of glyphosate, but warned that it affected the bacteria in their gut, contributing to their later becoming more susceptible to other conditions.
St Peter Port’s groundstaff have also stopped using the chemical.
The Pollinator Project promotes the conservation of pollinating insects.
Gordon Steele from the group said it had taken time for the extent of glyphosate’s impact to be discovered.
‘Aside from the public health issues, it has been directly shown to harm many of our vital pollinating insects,’ he said.
‘These “sub-lethal” effects have very recently been shown again in bumblebees, where exposure to glyphosate affects the ability of the bees to manage temperatures in the nest.
‘The evidence around these effects continues to build and the volume of beneficial insects in Europe and UK declines.
‘And remember, if we lose our pollinators, we lose our wild flowers, and much of our food, never mind our gardens.’
He added that there were plenty of alternatives, including mechanical methods and organic chemicals.
‘Best of all, let’s keep our formal areas formal, but take a natural approach and support wildflowers or “weeds” wherever they grow,’ he said.
‘Supporting nature is definitely the Guernsey way, so perhaps the question we should be asking is “should we allow glyphosate or any other pesticides to be used at all?” The answer in France is no, they have banned pesticides for cosmetic purposes, for domestic use and in sensitive areas, including public parks, gardens, and playgrounds.
'We are in Guernsey, in many ways, even more vulnerable to contamination by pesticides, as our drinking water comes from rainfall and the recent ban by HSE seeks to address this.’
