The Metaldehyde Stewardship Group (MSG) has submitted a case to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to extend the withdrawal period of metaldehyde from 18 to 24 months for professional use slug pellet products.
Following the recent news announced by Defra in December that metaldehyde will be withdrawn, David Cameron, chairman of the MSG group, explains that the current notification is a sell-out period of six months, expiring 30th June 2019, followed by a 12 month disposal, storage and use up period.
“The majority of slug pellets used in commercial agricultural situations are purchased and applied from August to December and therefore the current timeframe is very restrictive,” says David.
“We are calling for the sale and distribution of professional product stocks to be extended to the end of December 2019, with the disposal, storage and use up period lasting until the end of December 2020.
“This will make the total withdrawal period 24 months, providing growers with two further seasons of use and avoid mid-season market chaos.
“We believe this approach will encourage the most responsible withdrawal of metaldehyde products.”
The Crop Protection Association (CPA) and Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) are in support of the extended withdrawal period.
David Cameron says that the MSG will communicate any further updates on an extended withdrawal period in due course.
