Gardeners Beware!

Gardeners should be aware that the E.U has banned 80 pesticide products, and householders gardeners and farmers will have to use these products by December of this year if they do not want to break the law. After December they will not be legal.

If the products are not used by that date. Gardeners will have to store these pesticide products until March 31 2004 while they make arrangements for disposal. They will then have to hand over any leftover pesticides that they have stored to the Local Authority who will be charged with their disposal.

The information has taken local Councils by surprise and many fear that they will be left sitting on dangerous pesticides with a struggle to have them neutralised. Councillor Phil Bateman said “There is genuine surprise in Local Government at these decisions.

Councils will have to make all sorts of new arrangements to collect store and destroy these pesticide products. My advice is to contact the City Council if you want more information.”

The Local Government Commission wrote to Government earlier this month expressing concern that there had been no liaison between DEFRA and the Association, or with individual authorities.