The results from the largest ever UK-wide survey on pesticide use by local authorities in public spaces launched today. It provides the most comprehensive picture of urban pesticide use by local councils in the UK to date.
PAN UK received responses to Freedom of Information requests from 368 town, city, borough, district and county councils regarding their use of pesticides in public spaces in 2024. While the data shows that great progress has been made over the past decade, over half of UK councils continue to apply pesticides in public spaces such as parks, playgrounds, pavements, playing fields and housing estates. The vast majority of these chemicals are herbicides (weedkillers) designed to remove unwanted plants, usually for cosmetic purposes.
The data confirms that the weedkiller glyphosate is by far the most widely used pesticide in urban areas. Glyphosate has been linked repeatedly to the development of a variety of cancers and other diseases. Its manufacturer has paid out billions of dollars in compensation to US sufferers of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (a type of cancer) who claim that they became ill after using Roundup, which contains glyphosate as its key ingredient.
Polling, conducted in June 2025, reveals that the majority of the UK public support an end to urban pesticide use. Two-thirds (65%) agree that “schools, parks, playgrounds and other public spaces in their local area should be pesticide-free”.*
Councils reported using a total of 354 tonnes of pesticides in 2024, roughly equivalent to the weight of 23 double decker buses. This is almost certainly an underestimation as the figure does not include pesticides used by the thousands of parish councils in England, for example.
UK councils are doing better in some areas than others. Of the councils that responded, almost half (47%) didn’t use pesticides on playing fields, a third (34%) kept cemeteries pesticide-free and a quarter (26%) managed their parks and green spaces without pesticides.
Survey results are also broken down into the UK’s four nations. Pesticides are a devolved competency meaning that, in addition to the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh governments also have the power to ban urban pesticide use in their own nations.
London is very much leading the way! 23 of London’s 33 councils (32 borough councils plus the City of London Corporation) have either ended their pesticide use entirely or are moving in that direction. Health and environment advocates are hopeful that the entire capital may soon follow Paris’ example and go pesticide-free.
Nick Mole, Policy Officer at PAN UK says: “Pesticide use in public spaces only makes up around 10% of the UK’s total usage but – because we are now such an urban population– it’s the second most common route of exposure after diet. There are plenty of non-chemical alternatives available and dozens of councils proving every day that going pesticide-free is entirely possible. Given the global biodiversity crisis and rising rates of chronic diseases such as cancer and Parkinson’s, removing these toxic chemicals from the places where we live, work and play should be a no brainer.”
*Polling conducted by YouGov Plc on behalf of PAN UK. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,162 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 25th – 26th June 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
