Sustainable gardening and grounds management

How sustainable are your gardening practices? How sustainable is the management of your park and grounds? By entering the pesticides you use in the Environmental Yardstick, you can assess the risk they pose to aquatic and soil organisms.

Citizens

The first step toward sustainable gardening is to determine whether using pesticides is really necessary. Pesticides may be environmentally damaging, even though they have "green" packaging and are for sale at garden centres. There are various alternatives for clearing plantdiseases, pests and weeds in your garden and courtyard. 

Municipalities and companies

There are several alternatives to the use of herbicides on paved surfaces, such as "wave" (hot water), hot air and burning or brushing. We like to refer you to the barometer sustainable grounds management and the criteria for sustainable weed control on paved surfaces (DOB) for inspiration and detailed information on methods. 

If you decide to use pesticides on paved surfaces despite the availabe alternatives, pesticides with the lowest environmental impact are preferred. When applying a pesticide, the correct dosage, method of application and application circumstances (wind, sun, precipitation) may further minimize the impact on the environment.