Mitre10 moves to save bees
Pesticides with neonicotinoids, a range of chemicals believed to contribute to bee decline, will be phased out at all of Mitre10’s 82 stores.
This follows many calls over the years by environmentalists in New Zealand for stakeholders to end inorganic pest and weed controls.
Mitre10 chief executive Neil Cowie said that after November 1, the company will not stock products that contain neonicotinoids and will source alternatives.
Any existing stock sourced prior to November 1 will remain on the shelves until it is sold out, which they anticipate will take three to four months.
The dangerous chemicals in the pesticides are imidacloprid, thiacloprid and clothianidin, he said.
Mitre10 began an in-depth review of its products earlier this year due to growing concern around neonicotinoids, and the home improvement and garden retailer decided to remove products containing the chemicals from their shelves.
“The welfare of bees and the wider environment is very important to us at Mitre10,” Mr Cowie said.
“Recent research in Europe and the USA has demonstrated that insecticides known as neonicotinoids have a substantial impact on honey bee health.
“Glyphosate, a commonly used herbicide, has also been shown to have effects on nontarget species such as bees.”
Debate on the use of glyphosate has also come to the fore since Monsanto, which produces the herbicide Roundup, was ordered to pay more than NZ$300 million in damages to a school caretaker in California in a US court ruling.
The caretaker argued his cancer was caused by exposure to herbicide.
However, Horizons Regional Council manager Rod Smilie says they have no policy against the use of Roundup, but will continue to follow the advice of the Environmental Protection Agency.
HRC uses Roundup as a herbicide to kill grass and other weeds prior to planting and for spraying around new plants on revegetation sites.
He said the council uses Roundup for vegetation control for drain maintenance, and followed instructions on the product label. “We rely on the expertise of the EPA which provides specialist advice on such products.
“Horizons currently does not use any agrichemical containing neonicotinoids, however we reserve the right to consider using these products should the need arise, but will continue to follow the advice of the EPA.”
Two Massey University scientists, Dr Kerry Harrington and Professor David McLean could not agree on glyphosate’s toxicity.
In a programme on RNZ on Monday night, Professor McLean said that based on research, herbicides with glyphosates caused cancer in humans and should be banned in New Zealand.
Dr Harrington said the herbicide was safe to use and saw existing research as insufficient evidence to worry about the use of glyphosate.
The EPA is now seeking information from manufacturers, importers and industry users on neonicotinoids with a deadline of October 26.
The EPA’s general manager for hazardous substances Dr Fiona Thomson-Carter says they want to know how they are being used, the frequency and scale of their use and specific mitigation measures adopted when they are applied.