Decision makers: North Yorkshire Council

Councillors responsible for England's largest county chose to stick with glyphosate in February 2025

Apr 17, 2025

It took a year to even get the decision before the full council. Green councillor Andy Brown first took the carefully worded recommendation below to the council back in February 2024.

“To reduce the budget for mowing and spraying by at least £100,000 a year and to cease all purchases of any products containing glyphosate or neonicotinoids.”

From there it was sent off to a subcommittee concerned with human health - where environmental considerations were then considered out of scope - before finally arriving for a vote at full council this year.

The debate you can see in the video here is an interesting one and lasted about 25 minutes (starts at 1:01.14). The principle arguments against stopping the use of the pesticide were:

Cost. In the papers, officers say research conducted by the service concluded that a move away from glyphosate-based treatments would cost an estimated 4-10 times the cost of glyphosate.
Legal status. The fact central government sanction its use is good enough reason to trust its safety for some people. (I’m really trying hard here not to think Horizon technology , infected blood, cladding etc, etc….)
No easy alternative. According to the documents, limited trials at using alternatives to glyphosate have been conducted by North Yorkshire Highways, which found that on cost, effectiveness and carbon dioxide emissions, glyphosate remained the best choice.
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The conclusion. The council said it be noted that the reduction of the current total budget by £100,000, from its current level of £144,000 by ceasing purchase of glyphosate, cannot be supported as there are no appropriate alternatives which would maintain highways and parks at their current standards.

The motion was defeated with 17 for, 58 against, and 7 abstentions.

The Northern Eco

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