Press Release: Brent Council continues spraying streets with toxic chemicals amidst community concerns

Brent Council has officially confirmed that it will continue using glyphosate-based herbicides, despite residents raising concerns around the use of these chemicals in public spaces. 

A growing body of scientific research has raised concerns about the potential health impacts of glyphosate and other herbicides, including possible links to cancer, endocrine disruption and cognitive decline. 

In a 2026 survey, 60% of children’s playgrounds harboured residues of glyphosate. Glyphosate has been banned from use in urban areas in several European countries, including France, Italy, and Germany, due to concerns around its impact on human health and the environment.

As part of our UK-wide campaign, Your Wild Streets, we're pushing councils to reconsider pesticide use and explore alternatives, Brent residents have asked the council to reduce or stop routine spraying of chemical weedkillers. 

However, a council representative confirmed that the council is committed to using glyphosate-based herbicides on streets and pavements, and ruled out further dialogue with the community on the subject. 

“Pesticides are a proven poison to us and nature. It worries me that the few parks we can visit for recreation and the streets we walk on daily are tainted by such harmful chemicals. ‘With limited access to green spaces, it's even more important to make sure pesticides are kept off our streets, for our health and the health of our urban wildlife.” - Bukola Omoyeni, local resident and volunteer with, UK Youth for Nature.

Around 45% of UK councils are taking action to reduce pesticide use, with fifty councils already having gone pesticide-free. Alternative non-chemical methods such as hot foam, brushing, mulching and hand weeding are already being used by councils including Hackney, Lambeth and Lewes, who have gone spray-free without any extra cost. In fact, Hackney Council saved £10,000 a year after cutting pesticide use by 80%.

Brent Council has dismissed non-chemical weed control methods as ineffective, too slow, or too expensive and cited budget pressures as a reason not to pursue a precautionary, phased approach. It did not address residents’ concerns about the potential health impacts of chemical exposure. With Brent elections approaching in May 2026, Omoyeni, along with others in the community, is asking the council to further engage with residents on evidence, alternatives, and costs. 

References: 

1) In March 2015, the World Health Organisation agency, International Agency for Research on Cancer, classified glyphosate as ‘probably carcinogenic’ (International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2015). A 2023 study from UC Berkeley School of Public Health found that childhood exposure to glyphosate and AMPA threatens to increase the risk of developing serious disease in later life, such as liver cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. (Kaplan, S.,2023)

2) Choudhary, L., Monaghan, M., Schweppe, R., Franco, A. T., Goldner, W., & van Gerwen, M. (2025). What Is the Impact of Glyphosate on the Thyroid? An Updated Review. Biomedicines, 13(10), 2402. doi:10.3390/biomedicines13102402 

3) Bartholomew, S.K. et al. (2024) ‘Glyphosate exposure exacerbates neuroinflammation and Alzheimer’s disease-like pathology despite a 6-month recovery period in mice’, Journal of Neuroinflammation, 21(1). doi:10.1186/s12974-024-03290-6. 

4) Pesticide Action Network UK (2026) Playing with Poison: Pesticide residues on children’s playgrounds [Online]. Available at: https://www.pan-uk.org/site/wp-content/uploads/Playing-with-Poison-January-2026.pdf   (Accessed: 16 February 2026), p. 1

5) Casassus, B. (2019) ‘French court bans sale of controversial weedkiller’, Nature [Online] 24 January. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00259-x (Accessed: 16 February 2026). 

6) Eden, T. (2016) ‘Italy places important restrictions on the use of glyphosate’, PAN Europe, 24 August. Available at: https://www.pan-europe.info/press-releases/2016/08/italy-places-important-restrictions-use-glyphosate (Accessed: 16 February 2026). 

7) Agence-Presse France, (2019) ‘Germany to ban use of glyphosate weedkiller by end of 2023', The Guardian [Online] 4 September. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/04/germany-ban-glyphosate-weedkiller-by-2023 (Accessed: 16 February 2026)

8) Pesticide Action Network UK (2025) Pesticide-Free Towns: A snapshot of pesticide use by UK councils after a decade of campaigning [online]. Available at: https://issuu.com/pan-uk/docs/pesticide-free_towns?fr=sNTBmNzg3MjIzNjc (Accessed: 16 February 2026). 

9) Pesticide Action Network (2023) Cost-saving approaches for going pesticide-free [online]. Available at: https://www.pan-uk.org/site/wp-content/uploads/Cost-saving-approaches-to-going-pesticide-free.pdf (Accessed 17 February 2026).