I couldn’t help but feel incredibly sad when I went to my local Bunnings store and saw Roundup lining the shelves, with no warning labels, and no way for customers to know just how dangerous this product is. 

While the product label says: “DO NOT allow pets and children to enter the treated areas until the spray has dried”, the problem is that glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, is known to linger in soil, air and water for months after it has been sprayed, according to the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. 

This product is being used innocently by home gardeners all over Australia, in areas where children and pets play, with no idea of the harm it is doing. 

I contacted Bunnings to ask if they would consider removing Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides from its shelves considering the known health impacts and the devastating effect it is having on bee populations; or, at the very least, providing warnings to customers. 

I was extremely disappointed with the response I received from Bunnings Director of Marketing and Merchandise, Clive Duncan:

"We follow advice from Australia’s chemical regulator, the APVMA (Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority), in regard to this product. We also routinely review our product range to ensure that everything we sell meets appropriate standards and will continue to do so."

"We take customer and team member welfare extremely seriously and strongly recommend users read and follow the directions on the label and the packaging of any product they use. Likewise, the correct use of Personal Protective Equipment is recommended for all garden care products. 

"We also stock alternative herbicides for customers who prefer non-glyphosate based products.”

Bunnings is under no obligation to follow advice from the APVMA and the problem with doing this is that the APVMA is funded by the chemical companies that stand to lose profits if the regulations are changed.  

The effectiveness of the APVMA and its decision-making with regards to glyphosate is under the scrutiny of the Australian Government, with the recently announced senate inquiry into the APVMA. 

It is clear that our national pesticides regulator is not acting in the interests of our health. It is therefore nowhere near good enough for a major retailer with more than 300 stores all over Australia to base their decisions on what products they sell based on APVMA regulations.

There is an amazing opportunity here for Bunnings to take the front foot on this issue, to act in the best interest of customers and educate them on the alternatives, rather than waiting for this matter to be debated in parliament. Our dying bee populations cannot wait for this. 

With more than 9,000 signatures on this petition in just over three weeks, we mustn’t underestimate the power we have as a collective to help bring out this desperately needed change. 

Please voice your concerns to CustomerFeedback@bunnings.com.au and/or let your local Bunnings store know how you feel.

And, please keep sharing this petition to help us reach our next goal of 10,000 signatures - you may like to share the video I filmed at Bunnings along with the petition link: www.change.org/glyphosate. 

We can do this, I know we can. 

Zara.