"Cities and counties are increasingly banning toxic pesticides—and some are taking aim at fertilizers. But industry attempts to buck local efforts remain a significant hurdle."
"PORTLAND, Me. — On an early fall day, the city's downtown Fox Field and Playground is humming. A half dozen young men shoot baskets, and small children scramble over playground structures. The central playing field is wet with dew and shimmers an emerald green in mid-morning light.
Last fall, Portland's Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Department began organic turf management—zero use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers to control weeds and grubs—on Fox Field. It took four applications of organic fertilizer (sulfate of potash); copious soil amendments (sand, peat, and loam); injections of oxygen to increase nutrient and water circulation; and heavy seeding. While scattered clover and dandelion weeds poke through, and there's one small, muddy patch near a soccer goal post, the grass in the heavy-use field is remarkably healthy.
Portland passed a law in 2018 banning synthetic pesticides for turf, landscape, and outdoor pest management on both public and private property, and the parks department is doing its part to comply across the city's recreational fields, its 66 parks on more than 1,000 acres, community gardens, and other sites.
Many of the most common lawn and landscape pesticides—including glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup—are harmful to human health, pollinators, and wildlife. Twenty-six of the top 40 pesticides are possible or known carcinogens, and 24 have the potential to disrupt the endocrine system, among other impacts, according to Beyond Pesticides."
Meg Wilcox reports for Environmental Health News November 16, 2021.
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