Use of pesticides by the Dutch government, 1986-2001
| 1986 | 1992 | 1995 | 2001 | Reduction | ||
| compared to 1986 | ||||||
| kg active ingredient | % | |||||
| Total use | 126 975 | 70 660 | 50 372 | 42 144 | 67 | |
| including | ||||||
| urban vegetation | 36 268 | 19 075 | 11 074 | 10 222 | 72 | |
| sports fields | 7 546 | 5 548 | 4 896 | 4 164 | 45 | |
| surfacing work | 29 363 | 27 189 | 26 651 | 20 510 | 30 | |
| railways | 20 850 | 11 135 | 4 898 | 6 040 | 71 | |
| water courses | 16 833 | 3 761 | 557 | - | 100 | |
| Materials used | ||||||
| including | ||||||
| amitrole | 13 308 | 8 520 | 1 994 | 356 | 97 | |
| dalapon | 25 731 | 7 476 | 581 | - | 100 | |
| dichlobenil | 17 077 | 10 085 | 6 222 | 8 317 | 51 | |
| diuron | 7 920 | 22 971 | 13 029 | 13 | 100 | |
| glyphosate | 3 726 | 4 892 | 15 686 | 22 513 | -504 | |
| MCPA | 4 046 | 2 975 | 4 190 | 5 371 | -33 | |
| simazine | 24 091 | 4 193 | 1 203 | 33 | 100 | |
| Source: CBS. | CBS/ EDC/Oct02 | |||||
Trends in use of pesticides by the government
A multi-year plan has been established for the Public Green Spaces sector, as well as for agriculture and horticulture, in order to reduce use. The target reduction of 43% by 2000 compared to the period 1984-1988 has been easily achieved.
There are considerable variations in the trends for use depending on the sub-sector (explanation) and the active ingredient.
Urban vegetation
- The fall in use is caused here by changes in thinking by the municipal authorities involved, the redevelopment of the green space and the more widespread application of alternatives such as ground cover and manual hoeing.
Sports fields
- Some of the fall in the use is deceptive. In more and more municipalities, the sports fields are in private hands, with management and maintenance being the responsibility of the sports associations themselves.
Surfacing work
- Use for this application hardly fell at all in the period from well before 1986 to approximately 1995, with the lack of affordable non-chemical alternatives being the main reason. Ethical and road safety considerations also played a role, as did the need for rainwater drainage via gutters in the road. However, in recent years, more and more use is being made of mechanical and thermal alternatives.
Railways
- The fall in use here is mainly the result of major changes in thinking at the rail infrastructure organisation, Rail-Infrabeheer. The aim is a drastic reduction in the frequency of work on the ballast bed. In addition, there has been a switch to other substances.
Water courses
- Prior to 1986, the water boards had already made major efforts to reduce use. The ban on the last available substance, dalapon, in 2000 put an end to the use of pesticides for this application.
Developments in substances used
The changes in the quantities of substances used are caused by bans on the use of substances, switches to less environmentally-harmful substances and manual, mechanical or thermal methods.
Relevance
The run-off of pesticides from surfacing work is the main reason why these substances enter the surface water. This meant that, in the early nineties, the intake of surface water for drinking-water purposes had to be temporarily suspended a few times because high concentrations had been found, mainly of diuron.
