Every year, Havering Council spray our local environment with pesticides - used in the streets, parks, playgrounds and other open spaces in our Borough.  Many pesticides have the potential to cause serious diseases like cancer, or have been linked with birth defects and reproductive disorders.  Havering's very own pesticides are confirmed as having Glyphosate in them, a toxic substance linked to neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease and behavioural problems in children.  Vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly and pregnant women tend to be more at risk.  The use of these pesticides also harms our urban biodiversity, wildlife, and contaminates our natural resources including water.  

Well tested, cost effective and safe non-chemical alternatives exist and are already being used in other towns and cities across the world, including a growing number in the UK, so why are we behind the times?  We should no longer be exposed to toxic chemicals when safer alternatives are available - this is not OK!  Let's join other London Boroughs such as Hammersmith & Fulham & Hackney, in declaring Havering a safe and pesticide-free town!

You can read more about pesticide-free towns and access lots of resources here: https://www.pan-uk.org/ 

We will be sending this petition to Councillors Damian White and Osman Dervish once complete, along with a detailed letter to request that Havering Council asks their current contractor to change their ways, or sets up with a new contractor to use alternative methods for weed control in Havering https://www.pan-uk.org/alternatives-to-herbicides-a-new-guide/