Concern at controversial weed killer being sprayed in Oxford

Campaigner Chaka Artwell, who lives in Barton and is a regular speaker at council meetings, put a question to the city authority on July 15 regarding the spraying of glyphosate, one of the most commonly-used herbicides in the UK.

Glyphosate has been linked by some to cancer in humans and the killing of bees yet studies on the impact of humans remain inconclusive.

READ MORE: McDonald's in Cornmarket Street in Oxford is on the move

The council's cabinet approved the continued use of glyphosate throughout the city in December last year.

The council has been accused of wanton spraying. (Image: Other.)

Speaking out at the meeting, Mr Artwell highlighted he was addressing city councillors "once again".

He said: "Glyphosate's harmful impact on human health is recognised by many judicial jurisdictions of the western world including the World Health Organisation.

"The source will be traced to Oxford City Council’s wanton spraying even during the winter months of this herbicide called glyphosate.

"This combined cocktail of herbicides and pesticides needs to be given greater attention than air quality concerns."

Mr Artwell went on to say he was calling for a moratorium of spraying it in Oxford by ODS (Oxford Direct Services).

ODS is wholly-owned by Oxford City Council and is responsible for services like waste and highways management.

Chaka Artwell addresses the chamber. (Image: Oxford City Council.)

In 2015, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer announced findings that glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s RoundUp line of pesticides, is “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

But since then, WHO concluded in a panel with the United Nations the herbicide was "unlikely" to cause cancer at realistic exposure levels.

Some councils in the UK continue to spray glyphosate while others do not, such as Suffolk County Council which decided to stop using it in its weed treatment programmes in February 2022 as it moved to using "more natural" options.

Responding to Mr Artwell's concern, Labour cabinet member for citizen focused services and council companies, Nigel Chapman, reminded the chamber he had "commissioned a comprehensive review of use of glyphosate-based weed killers by ODS in 2022".

He added: "The review found that significant care was taken in the way glyphosate was used by ODS in Oxford to minimising the impacts on biodiversity.

"It was being applied by staff wearing PPE on hard paved areas and areas with tennis courts targeting individual weeds in a precise way, not in a 'wanton' and careless way as your public address alleges.

Nigel Chapman responds in the meeting. (Image: Oxford City Council.)

"It also found that all the alternative weed treatments had a higher cost to apply them and none of them demonstrated the level of effectiveness of glyphosate."

Mr Chapman said glyphosate remains approved for use across the EU and the council would keep using it use while "herbicide manufacturers are working to approve effectiveness of glyphosate alternatives".

He added the council would "monitor the regulatory environment closely as this could change at a future point".

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About the author

Noor is the Local Democracy Reporter for Oxfordshire who covers political stories from across the county. 

She began working as a journalist in Oxford in September 2023 having graduated from the University of Oxford.

Noor was trained at the News Associates journalism school and can be found on X through the handle @NoorJQurashi