A PESTICIDE collection scheme in Newton Abbot has been declared a success by its organisers.

The Big Bradley Pesticide Collection took place in October and has been declared a success by Green Futures Newton Abbot.

Anita Gorst from Green Futures said: ‘After several months of planning and publicity we achieved our goal of removing potentially harmful pesticide containers from our local community and raised awareness of the need to go pesticide-free to conserve our own health and the health of our surrounding ecosystem for future generations.

‘We want to thank all the local organisations, groups and individuals who have helped with the first collection of this kind in the U.K.

‘This is a real milestone for creating a more sustainable future for all of us.’

With the help of the Teignbridge District Council (TDC), 167 unwanted pesticide containers were collected from households across Bradley Ward.

Councillor Peter Williams, executive member for Recycling, Household Waste and Environmental Health, said: ‘We are very proud to have been able to show that we as a local council can respond to what is clearly an emerging need as people across our community reduce their use of garden pesticides.

‘We will continue to work with local groups and other organisations to continue this important work.’

SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK will organise the safe disposal of the pesticides through hazardous waste contractors Peake GB, who are based in Liskeard.

SUEZ Senior Site Manager, Tom Clarke, said: ‘We are committed to helping local people across Newton Abbot to access recycling services.

‘Dealing with unwanted garden pesticides is definitely becoming a more urgent requirement as people shift towards chemical-free approaches for managing their gardens, so we’re very happy to have enabled this to happen in Bradley.’

The Big Bradley Pesticide Collection was part of the wider Pesticide-Free Bradley initiative which has been primarily funded by the Devon Environment Foundation.

DEF’s Chief Executive, Amanda Keetley, said: ‘Enabling Green Futures to develop their ideas for engaging local people in pesticide reduction initiatives just shows what community groups can achieve when they are given the support that they are asking for and everyone works together towards the same shared goal.

‘We hope that this is just the start of a much wider grassroots movement across the whole of Devon to go pesticide-free.’

Devon County Councillor, and Bradey resident, Cllr Phil Bullivant, also provided financial support for the initiative from his Locality Budget.

‘This is about local people working together to create a safer and healthier environment for future generations’ Cllr Bullivant said.

‘If we can start to achieve our goals at the neighbourhood level, we will be able to replicate the approaches that work across wider areas and go from strength to strength at restoring our biodiversity across Devon’ he added.

Green Futures has consistently been core-funded by Newton Abbot Town Council, and the active role of local town councillors in the Bradley community has been essential to the success of the Pesticide Collection.

Chairman of the town council’s Community and Heritage Committee, Cllr Louise Cooke, expressed her support.

‘We have backed Green Futures since they gave us a presentation about the impact of pesticides on pollinator levels, back in November 2023’ Cllr Cooke said.

‘To see this initiative go from an idea to an organised operation through a widespread partnership of local people and organisations is really encouraging. What we all need to do now is repeat, repeat, repeat!’ Cllr Cooke added.