by Emma Pavans de Ceccatty, Campaigns Assistant, PAN UK This last year has been incredibly challenging for everyone. It’s been especially tough to engage people on issues like the dangers of pesticides. Yet, like resilient dandelions growing through the concrete, Pesticide-Free Town campaigners have shown their creativity and determination in [...]
By Stuart Fraser, Kersten UK Hello readers of the PAN UK blog, I work for a company called Kersten UK. Our business specialises in chemical-free integrated weed management and we’d love to share some of our thoughts with you on the topic. We’ve noticed a trend of public bodies moving [...]
By Nick Mole, Policy Officer, PAN UK 2019 is proving to be an amazing year for our Pesticide-Free Towns campaign, as an ever growing number of councils adopt policies that will bring an end to the use of potentially harmful pesticides in the parks and playgrounds, streets and schools where [...]
Brighton & Hove Environment Hustings 2019 Thursday 18th April saw council election candidates from the four main political parties take part in Brighton & Hove’s Environment Hustings, ahead of local elections on 2nd May. Organised jointly by PAN UK and the Brighthelm Centre, the ‘hustings’ - an event during an election [...]
by Karen Rigby-Faux, Community Liaison Officer, Burleys Burleys, with its Royal Warrant, is a grounds maintenance company that has been in existence for more than 50 years. Burleys’ main clients include local authorities, the police, numerous sports clubs and schools across the South East. These are large contracts which involve maintaining public [...]
The Pesticide-Free Towns movement is gathering pace across the UK as public concern about the use of glyphosate and other pesticides in our parks, playgrounds and streets continues to grow. Not long after the recent news from the London Borough of Croydon, which has ended the use of pesticides in [...]
by Steve Peters, Garden Manager, The Level Park, Brighton The Level Park is situated in the centre of Brighton and is completely pesticide-free. Entrance to The Level Park in Brighton which is managed without the use of pesticides. The park’s complete restoration using Heritage Lottery, Big Lottery Fund [...]
by Hélène Rudlin (with contributions from Emily Hirst), Whalley Rangers There is a strong sense of community in Whalley Range; we love our streets, we care about gardening, and there are always activities taking place that contribute to making our environment an even more pleasant place to live, [...]
Croydon Council has given its citizens an early Christmas present by committing to end the use of the controversial weed killer glyphosate in all of it public parks and green spaces. At a full council meeting on Tuesday 3rd December, in answer to a question from Councillor Nina Degrads, Councillor Stuart [...]
John Wilson is a new campaigner who has recently launched a Pesticide-Free Towns campaign in Newcastle. He shares his motivations and campaign progression below: I have been lobbying Newcastle Council to stop using glyphosate-based weed killer for over 15 years. I did this first as an individual and now, for [...]
(18th October 2018) In September, the GMB Union joined an ever-growing range of voices calling for the UK government to immediately ban glyphosate. Glyphosate is the world’s most widely used weedkiller which was declared as ‘probably carcinogenic’ by the World Health Organisation in 2015. As well as being used widely [...]
by Keith Tyrell, Director, PAN UK On Friday, 10th August, a jury in California came to a momentous judgement: it agreed with a school groundsman’s claim that his rare form of cancer was caused by exposure to the herbicide known as Roundup. The case has huge implications for glyphosate – the [...]
by Nick Mole, Policy Officer, PAN UK (2nd August 2018) On 26th April, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) released the results of its latest survey into pesticides used in the amenity sector in the UK. This is the second such survey and it looks at use reported in 2016 [...]
by Josie Cohen, Head of Policy and Campaigns (1st August 2018) On a scorching hot Friday in June, forty decision-makers responsible for managing public spaces around London gathered in Hammersmith for the first ever Pesticide-Free London workshop. Those in attendance included elected councillors and council officers from two-thirds of London [...]
Great result for pollinators as ban on bee-toxic pesticides made permanent Today’s news that the European Commission has extended – and made permanent – the existing ban on three bee-toxic neonicotinoids is warmly welcomed by Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK). After spending more than a decade warning of the [...]
Glyphosate isn’t the only pesticide applied in towns and cities but it is certainly the most widely-used. It is sprayed by local councils and other land managers as a weedkiller in many of our green, urban spaces. Concerned citizens wanting their council (or other land managers) to stop using glyphosate come [...]
As the only UK charity focused on tackling the problems caused by pesticides, we are pleased to announce our new working relationship with Garden Organic, the country’s leading organic growing charity. Both organisations actively campaign to promote safe and sustainable alternatives to pesticides. Our combined expertise - whether in organic [...]
by Josie Cohen, Head of Policy and Campaigns (January 2018) In November 2017, EU member States narrowly voted for a five-year reauthorisation of glyphosate, the world’s most widely used weedkiller. While this is far from the fifteen-year license the agrochemical industry was pushing for, the result was a major disappointment [...]
Update - 27th November - Glyphosate license renewed for a further five years PAN UK is disappointed to report that the controversial weed killer, glyphosate, has been given approval for use in the EU for a further five years. What is even more disappointing is that the new approval comes [...]
by Josie Cohen, Head of Policy & Campaigns (18th July 2017) The movement to end the use of pesticides in the UK’s towns and cities enjoyed its first foray into Scotland a few weeks ago. Me and two PAN UK colleagues headed north of the border for a couple of [...]
