Something Nasty in East Midlands Woodsheds

12.00.00am GMT Thu 22nd Jan 2004

East Midlands Euro-MP Bill Newton Dunn has warned that time may be running out for gardeners to check whether something nasty may be lurking in their woodsheds, or greenhouses, or garages.

A range of garden weedkillers and pesticides were withdrawn from shops at the end of July last year because of growing concern about their consequences for human health and insect life in gardens and rivers. Since 1 January it has been illegal to use these products and gardeners must dispose of them by the end of March.

Local councils are responsible for enforcing the law, and gardeners storing them after 31 March could in theory face a maximum fine of £5000.

Euro-MP Bill Newton Dunn says that despite having 12 years to prepare for the ban, the Government has done little to inform gardeners or encourage local councils to provide safe disposal facilities.

With the deadline now looming the Liberal Democrat MEP is concerned that many of the products will end up being poured down drains, or thrown into bins to end up on landfill sites, where they risk causing much greater environmental damage than if used normally.

He said: "Every gardener will want to act responsibly to ensure that these pesticides and weedkillers do not pollute the environment, but too little has been done to inform them or help them."

A survey by the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) found that fewer than 15% of people knew if their local authority has a household chemical disposal unit and only half of these people used the facility.

Visit http://www.pan-uk.org/disposal/ for details of disposal sites across Britain.

British ministers agreed in 1991 to the European initiative that manufacturers should withdraw pesticides and weedkillers that could not proven to be safe. This followed warnings from the WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature) of a catastrophic decline in insect species, threatening bird and animal life.

Notes:

Products containing dichlorprop, 2,3,6-TBA, dikegulac, resmethrintar acids and triforine have been withdrawn.

A list of the products withdrawn from sale in July and which will be illegal to possess from 31 March 2004 can be found at: http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/farmers/essential_uses/products_with_unsupported_actives.htm