Technical Legislation


Managing our turf


“ 118 I PC APRIL/MAY 2015


Many people hold up their hands in horror at the mere thought that their right to manage their facility, in the way they’ve always done, has been removed by the bureaucrats in Brussels


With the arsenal of pesticides seriously diminished in recent years, just what is still available and what, if you have it in your store, will it actually control? John Handley, Maxwell Amenity’s Technical Manager, suggests not much, and that understanding the physiological requirements of plants better may actually help us all to tackle those problematic weeds


I


approach legislation in the same way that I approach medicine: I don’t like it, but I have to believe that it’s ultimately for my benefit. That being the case, let’s get the legislation out of the way and then we can


tackle what the effect of it will be and the implications for how we manage our turf, in the short term and with an eye to the future.


The Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012 transpose Directive 2009/128/EC on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides


The Directive includes a number of provisions aimed at achieving the sustainable use of pesticides by reducing risks and impacts on human health and the environment*. These include:


- the establishment of National Action Plans; compulsory testing of application equipment


- provision of training for, and arrangements for the certification of, operators, advisors and distributors


- a ban (subject to limited exceptions) on aerial spraying


- provisions to protect water*, public spaces and conservation areas


- the minimisation of risks from handling, storage and disposal


- the promotion of low input regimes (including Integrated Pest Management (IPM))*


Progress is to be measured through the use of ‘risk indicators’.


I’ve highlighted (*) the sections that this article will focus on. It won’t have escaped the attention of many professionals within the amenity sector that our arsenal of pesticides is being diminished. Many people hold up their hands in horror at the mere thought that their right to manage their facility, in the way they’ve always done, has been removed by the bureaucrats in Brussels, potentially threatening the livelihoods of businesses in the UK and affecting the quality of the playing surfaces of our sports facilities.


Another interpretation of this is that research undertaken by the national agencies of the respective countries within Britain indicates that levels of pesticides, deemed in the long-term to be potentially damaging to our health, are being routinely found within water bodies; and that, by changing the law on what quantities and types of Active Ingredients can be used, as


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156