Contaminating
Herbicide Causes City To Give Up Compost Distribution
(Beyond Pesticides, November 11, 2003) The tradional compost
distribution that the Solid Waste Divison of Lawrence, KS holds each
fall is cancelled this year due to herbicide contamination, according
to Lawrence
Waste Reduction & Recycling (WRR). The town's compost was found
to contain unacceptably high levels of the herbicide clopyralid, a chemical
that remains lethal up to 18 months after initial use. "The reason
we wanted to test this year's compost prior to distribution was the
prevalence of clopyralid found in municipal compost facilities in California,
Washington, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. We wanted to know if this particular
herbicide was being used locally on residential lawns - to such an extent
that it could potentially cause plant damage when used as compost for
backyard gardens," says Mollie Mangerich, operations supervisor
for WRR. "We sent a composite sample to a laboratory in Moscow,
Idaho and it came back with the result of clopyralid found at 52 parts
per billion (ppb) in our compost - a level which can be harmful to susceptible
plants such as tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, peas, beans and sunflowers
- plants often grown in backyard gardens and nurseries."
Other states have taken action as well. In March 2002, Washington state
banned use of the chemical on residential turf after studies detected
clopyralid in compost made from recycled grass, straw, and manure in
California, Washington, Pennsylvania, and New Zealand. See the March
6, 2002 edition of Daily News for more information.
Several months later, during July 2002, Dow Chemical Company, manufacturer
of clopyralid-containing herbicides including Confront, actually petitioned
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to delete all residential
use from the label of clopyralid products. Additionally, the new label
requires professional applicators to notify property managers not to
compost clippings from treated grass. Dow's requested action neither
addressed the most significant uses of clopyralid products nor provided
complete warning of all the dangers presented by the product.
The vast majority of product is applied by commercial and agricultural
applicators, and clippings from commercial turf (the majority of turf
in some states) frequently wind up in municipal compost programs. Unless
the herbicide is completely banned, compost and recycling companies
told the Los Angeles Times that their businesses could go bankrupt.
"You cannot have a system that mandates recycling of green waste
and license a garden chemical that makes the waste unrecyclable,"
said Gabriella Uhlar-Heffner, solid waste manager for Seattle's public
utility company.
The label change to clopyralid products is a phase-out, so although
most products will show the new label, there may still be some products
gracing garden store shelves that don't include the new warnings. Therefore,
it is important to act responsibly on the consumer level. Environmentalists
say it is best to avoid toxic herbicides altogether and practice safe
lawn care techniques. A good IPM program combines monitoring, proper
landscape design, mechanical and cultural methods, and includes the
use of heat, herbicidal soaps, and corn gluten meal. Biological control
of weeds, using beneficial insects or pathogens is also an excellent
approach. These techniques add to the health of the soil rather than
adding toxic chemicals, and also allow for safe composting.
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