Florence joins Pesticide-Free Town Network

"By joining the European Pesticide-Free Cities Network we want to work on raising awareness also in private green areas in order to ban the use of pesticides here too," says Cecilia del Re, Councilor for the Environment in Florence.

Together with Lisbon, Tallinn, Zagreb, Bolzano and many more, the capital of Tuscany decided to ban the use of pesticides in public areas: sports fields, playgrounds, gardens, pavements and cemeteries are now free of any pesticides.

Pesticide Free Towns

In 2009, the European Union established the Sustainable Use Directive on Pesticides (SUDP), which aims to achieve a sustainable use of pesticides in the EU by reducing the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment. Promoting the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and alternative approaches or techniques, such as non-chemical alternatives to pesticides, are among those goals. 

The movement of towns getting pesticides free is growing: more and more citizens are opposing to the use of pesticides in the parks and streets where they work, live and play.