As things stand a decision is required by the end of June or glyphosate, one of the most common components in popular weed killers, will in effect lose its approval.

At a meeting in early March, all 28 EU member states were expected to endorse a European Commission proposal to extend the authorisation but the vote was postponed after several member states refused to approve the chemical.

Conflicting scientific reports has added to this concern; whilst the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says glyphosate is safe, the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) says it is “probably carcinogenic”.

The Swedish environment minister, Asa Romson, said: “We won’t take risks with glyphosate and we don’t think the analysis done so far is good enough.”

More uncertainty has been added by the Environment Committee of the European Parliament which voted 38 to 6 in favour of conducting an independent review before considering licence renewal:

“So long as serious concerns remain about the carcinogenicity and endocrine disruptive properties of the herbicide glyphosate, which is used in hundreds of farm, forestry, urban and garden applications, the commission should not renew its authorisation”

“Instead, it should conduct an independent review and disclose all the scientific evidence that the European Food Safety Authority used to assess glyphosate.”

The motion for a resolution, will be put to vote at the April 11-14 plenary session in Strasbourg whilst the next expert committee is due to meet on the 18^th of May.

In the UK, some water companies, contractors and councils are already taking a proactive move to integrate current methods with alternative practices.

Cardley-Wave provide a range of manual and machine mounted 100% hot water weed control systems which has allowed user organisations to reduce their dependence on conventional chemicals whilst also utilising the unit for additional applications:

“Protecting the environment is extremely important to the City Council and this excellent system allows us to get rid of weeds simply by dousing them with hot water. An added advantage is that we can also use it as a quick and efficient way to get rid of unsightly chewing gum and graffiti."

“More and more countries are banning the use of certain types of weedkillers so it makes sense for Aberdeen to stay ahead of the legislation and take the best environmentally-friendly course of action now available to control weed growth.”

Communities, Housing and Infrastructure convener, Aberdeen City Councillor Neil Cooney.

If you are interested in one future-proof sustainable solution to kill weeds, moss and algae whilst also allowing for additional cleansing applications, including gum and graffiti removal, call 01254 707407