Plans to reintroduce a highly harmful chemical into Cornish communities have been announced by Cornwall Council. Glyphosate, is often used as a weedkiller, ensuring prolonged eradication in public spaces and byways of wild plants and invasive species.  
 
Its use dwindled after the County Council stopped funding it back in 2013, allowing nature to recover. In Penzance, the decision to stop using it altogether came in 2019, after Cornwall Council and PZ Council declared a climate emergency and the impact of chemicals on bio-diversity, waterways and human health became greater concerns.  
 
As Cornwall Council seeks to reintroduce the treatment, local councils are being given a short window of time, until 20th April , to make a decision on whether to opt-out of the reinstated service. Simple right? But there’s a caveat.  
 
If councils can’t keep up to the new ‘standards’ expected using alternative methods, they will be unable to opt-out of this harmful chemical the following year. And at such short notice, with budgets already set for the year, it’s putting parish and town councils in an impossible position. 
 
The new guidance from Cornwall Council makes it incredibly hard for councils to say no – driven by the perceived untidiness of wild plants and a desire to re-ignite ‘community pride’ - there are still key environmental and health impacts to consider, beyond image. Read more here.

Join us to ask Penzance Council to commit to staying a pesticide free town for future generations.