Amenity Pesticide Use

The request was successful.

Dear Scottish Borders Council,

I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information.

1. Please provide the following information on amenity pesticide usage:
a. A list of the pesticides you use (brand name, and active ingredient), this should include insecticides, fungicides, molluscicides and herbicides.
b. The COSHH assessment form for each of the pesticides you use.
c. Where these chemicals are used, i.e parks, road verges, pavements, tree bases etc.
d. Annual quantities of each pesticide used over the past 5 years. Please include the total amount of each used both by the council internally and externally through contractors.
e. Please also confirm the concentrations of each pesticide used at application.

2. What strategies does the council have in place to reduce the use of these pesticides? Please provide detail on these efforts including dates and costings where possible.

3. How much has the council spent on purchasing and spraying amenity pesticides over the past 5 years? Please include staff costs of people employed to undertake this (either contractors or council staff), personal protective equipment, safety training, spray equipment, hazard signs, etc.

If it is not possible to provide the information requested above for any reason, I would be grateful for any further advice or assistance as to how I can refine my request. If any of this information is already in the public domain, please can you direct me to it, with page references and URLs as necessary.

If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact me via email or phone and I will be very happy to clarify what I am asking for and discuss the request.

Yours faithfully,

Kate Basley

Freedom of Information, Scottish Borders Council

Dear Kate Basley

I acknowledge receipt of your request for information relating to the
above and shall respond within the relevant 20 working day period.

Yours sincerely

Information Management Team

Scottish Borders Council

0300 100 1800

[1][email address]

[2]Web | [3]Twitter | [4]Facebook | [5]Flickr | [6]YouTube

How are you playing [7]#yourpart to help us keep the Borders thriving?

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Freedom of Information, Scottish Borders Council

3 Attachments

Dear Kate Basley

 

The above request is exempt under S39(2) Environmental Information of
FOISA  therefore we respond under the Environmental Information (Scotland)
Regulations 2004.

 

The following response was prepared and provided on behalf of Assets &
Infrastructure:

 

1a. A list of the pesticides you use (brand name, and active ingredient),
this should include insecticides, fungicides, molluscicides and
herbicides.

The Council’s Parks and Environment section only uses herbicides :-

Gallup Biograde 360

Paradise

Contractors current product used is Monsanto Amenity XL

b. The COSHH assessment form for each of the pesticides you use.

Three COSHH Assessments are attached.

c. Where these chemicals are used, i.e parks, road verges, pavements, tree
bases etc.

Gallup Biograde 360 - Parks, cemeteries, school grounds, footpaths, tree
bases, shrub beds.

Paradise – Parks, cemeteries, school grounds, gravel paths

Monsanto Amenity XL – footpaths, kerb edges

d. Annual quantities of each pesticide used over the past 5 years. Please
include the total amount of each used both by the council internally and
externally through contractors.

2015

Internally

No data available

Contractor

Dakar Pro – 115.75kg  

Asteroid Pro - 156.8 litres

2016

Internally

Nomix Dual – 580 litres

Gallup Biograde 360 – 376 litres

Contractor

Dakar Pro – 116.5kg  

Asteroid Pro - 192.8 litres

2017

Internally

Nomix Dual – 380 litres

Gallup Biograde 360 - 413 litres

Contractor

Monsanto Amenity XL – 459..2 litres

2018

Internally

Chikara – 2.95 kg

Gallup Biograde 360 – 425 litres

Contractor

Asteroid Pro – 496.34 litres

2019

Internally

Chikara – 4.7 kg

Gallup Biograde 360 – 695 litres

Contractor

Asteroid Pro – 177.5 litre

2020

Internally

Not finished using herbicide – data not yet available

Contractor

Monsanto Amenity XL – 192.85 litres

e. Please also confirm the concentrations of each pesticide used at
application.

Internally

Nomix Dual – ready to use

Chikara – 0.75g per litre of water

Gallup Biograde 360 – 20ml per litre of water

Paradise – 0.75g per litre of water

Contractor

Dakar Pro – 15g per litre of water

Asteroid Pro – 25ml per litre of water

Monsanto Amenity XL – 25ml per litre of water

2. What strategies does the council have in place to reduce the use of
these pesticides? Please provide detail on these efforts including dates
and costings where possible.

Scottish Borders Council does not currently have any strategies in place
to reduce the use of pesticides.

3. How much has the council spent on purchasing and spraying amenity
pesticides over the past 5 years? Please include staff costs of people
employed to undertake this (either contractors or council staff), personal
protective equipment, safety training, spray equipment, hazard signs, etc.

Due to the multi-functional nature of our section, the costs of manpower,
PPE, spray equipment etc specifically used for spraying amenity pesticides
is not captured and is therefore not available.

2015

Street and rural road weed control contract - £31634.81

2016

Street and rural road weed control contract - £31634.81

2017

Street and rural road weed control contract - £31634.81

2018

Scottish Borders Council PA1/PA6 training - £250

Street and rural road weed control contract - £31634.81

2019

Street weed control contract - £11,626.07

2020

Scottish Borders Council PA1/PA6 training - £1,260

Street and rural road weed control contract - £16,134.69

Some of the attached information has been redacted as it is third party
personal information and is exempt from disclosure under Regulation 11(2)
of EI(S)R 2004.

 

I should advise that you have a right to request a review within 40
working days from the date we respond to your request.  You should either
e-mail [1][email address] or write to the Information Manager,
Scottish Borders Council, Council HQ, Newtown St. Boswells TD6 0SA.

 

If after the Council’s FOI Advice Group have considered your review and
you are still not happy with the decision you then have a right to appeal
to the Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner, you do this either
by visiting [2]http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appea... or by post to: 
Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9DS.

Yours sincerely

Molly Longstaff
for the

Information Management Team

Scottish Borders Council

Newtown St Boswells

TD6 0SA

E mail:  [Scottish Borders Council request email]

Tel: 0300 100 1800

 

 

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References

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1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal

Dear FOI Team,

Thank you very much for all the information you have sent through, it is greatly appreciated.

Best wishes,
Kate