Glyphosate is a herbicide that is primarily used for killing weeds. It’s the most widely used herbicide in the world and in Aotearoa with Roundup being the most recognised formulation.   

Glyphosate is non-selective, meaning it kills a wide range of plants, including both weeds and crops. It works by interfering with the plant's ability to produce amino acids, leading to the death of the plant.  

The safety of glyphosate is subject to ongoing scientific debate.  

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a specialised agency of the World Health Organisation that focuses on cancer research, has classified glyphosate as a “probable human carcinogen”. They also concluded that there was “strong” evidence for genotoxicity, both for “pure” glyphosate and for glyphosate formulations. 

You can read more about the IARC process and determination here.  

For other species such as fish, bees, invertebrates, and microorganisms the answer is more definitive with a large body of independent peer-reviewed research demonstrating the toxicity of glyphosate to pollinators, aquatic life and other organisms, potentially causing significant harm to biodiversity and aquatic ecosystems.  

The effects of hazardous substances are usually tested in a lab environment which doesn’t always mimic effects in the real world. For example, glyphosate might be tested on a representative species (such as a species of rat). Glyphosate has been proven to have different effects between different species. In Aotearoa, we have a high proportion of unique indigenous species, and we don’t know how glyphosate affects them. The studies haven’t been done.  

Glyphosate’s manufacturer (Bayer, previously Monsanto) maintains the herbicide is safe when used according to instructions. They point to a significant body of research to support this claim. The science around glyphosate is highly contentious. Regulators tend to rely on studies funded by industry and industry-sponsored affiliates. Critics claim that industry studies lack objectivity due to the herbicide industry’s multi-billion-dollar stake in glyphosate remaining in widespread use.  

We use a lot of glyphosate-based herbicides in Aotearoa. There are currently over 90 formulations approved by the EPA. You can find glyphosate-based products such as Roundup in the supermarket aisle, at the hardware store, and at the garden centre. 

Many people use it around their homes, gardens, and driveways.  It's sprayed by councils around our towns and cities: on berms, in public parks, on sports fields, around playgrounds, in car parks, on road signs, along waterways, and on street furniture.  

The NZTA sprays it on roadsides up and down the country. DOC uses it to control weeds around huts, campsites, picnic areas, walking tracks, and conservation land. 

It is also used extensively in agriculture by livestock farmers, vegetable farmers, fruit growers, and forestry.  

In 2021 the EPA did a call for information on glyphosate use in Aotearoa. You can read the summary report here. 

Glyphosate is banned outright by some countries including Vietnam, Fiji, and Qatar. Other countries, such as Mexico, have made a commitment to work towards a ban. 

Several countries and regional authorities have partial bans that prohibit domestic use and/or the use of glyphosate in public places such as parks (for instance, France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and various provinces in Canada).  

In the European Union, glyphosate remains a controversial substance. The EU recently reapproved glyphosate for a further 10 years, extending its license until 2033. This decision was far from unanimous and was made after Member States failed (for a second time) to reach a qualified majority. The EU approval is subject to certain new conditions and restrictions including a prohibition of pre-harvest use as a desiccant and the need for certain measures to protect non-target organisms. In Aotearoa, we still use glyphosate as a pre-harvest desiccant.  

Note: while approved in the EU (with restrictions), individual Member States are responsible for regulating the use of glyphosate at a national and regional level if they consider this necessary based on risk assessments, particularly factoring in the need to protect biodiversity. 

The Environmental Protection Authority Te Mana Rauhī Taiao (EPA) is responsible for regulating glyphosate and glyphosate-containing substances under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO).  

Under HSNO, hazardous substances must be approved by the EPA before they can be imported or manufactured in Aotearoa. For glyphosate-containing substances, each formulation must be individually approved. The EPA is also responsible for establishing a set of associated rules around the sale and use of hazardous substances. The HSNO also provides a pathway for the reassessment of a hazardous substance when significant new information regarding the effects of the substance has become available.  

HSNO is fundamentally about environmental protection. Its purpose is to protect the environment, and the health and safety of people and communities, by preventing or managing the adverse effects of hazardous substances and new organisms. Under HSNO, the EPA must safeguard our environment, soil, air, water, and ecosystems, while providing for the wellbeing of people and communities and for the needs of future generations.  

In making decisions about hazardous substances, HSNO also requires the EPA to consider the sustainability of Aotearoa’s flora and fauna and ecosystems, public health, economic costs and benefits, Aotearoa’s international obligations, the relationship of Māori to the environment, and the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.  

HSNO also stipulates that the EPA should take a precautionary approach when the potential impacts on public health and the environment are not fully understood.  

There are around 90 different formulations of glyphosate-based herbicide in Aotearoa. In many of these formulations, glyphosate is mixed with other chemicals that are designed to maximise glyphosate’s effects.  

Many of these co-formulants are known to be more toxic than glyphosate itself and can also act to increase glyphosate’s toxicity. The “forever chemical,” POEA (Polyethoxylated tallow amine), is an example of a highly controversial co-formulant that is currently available in New Zealand despite being banned overseas. In 2022 the EPA committed to reviewing POEA surfactants following multiple concerns raised through their Call for Information process. However, they have not provided a timeline for this review.  

Despite their extensive use in Aotearoa, glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides have never undergone a full risk assessment here. 

Glyphosate was first imported to Aotearoa in the 1970s, prior to the creation of the EPA and contemporary legislation regulating hazardous substances. That means we’ve been using glyphosate-based herbicides for over 50 years without a full understanding of their impact on our people, native species, land, water and ecosystems. 

With a growing body of scientific evidence to demonstrate harm to human health and the environment, ELI believes a full and comprehensive risk assessment of glyphosate’s use in Aotearoa is well overdue.  

A full assessment would be an opportunity for the EPA to consider the true costs and benefits of glyphosate use in Aotearoa, and how best to regulate it to protect the environment and the health and safety of people and communities. 

In 2023 ELI took the first step towards reassessment by filing an application to the EPA to see whether legal grounds exist for reassessment under section 62 of the Hazardous Substances and New Organism Act 1996.  

In our application we outline why we think that grounds exist for reassessment under section 62(2)(a), on the basis that significant new information relating to the effects of glyphosate and glyphosate-containing substances have become available since those substances were approved. 

You can read our application here.

In our application we gathered a robust body of independent scientific evidence on glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides, including on exposure pathways and human health and environmental effects. Our selection criteria for scientific evidence were rigorous. In making our selection we prioritised: 

• Independent science  

• Systematic reviews and meta-analysis studies. (Articles that use the PRISMA methodology were preferred).  

• Peer-reviewed academic papers from journals ranked in the top quartile of their field based on their impact score. (Journals in the top 5% of their field were preferred).  

• More recent articles and articles from the last 5 years where possible. 

This independent scientific evidence sets out that glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides have significant effects on aquatic ecosystems and on terrestrial ecosystems. There is evidence that glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides have negative impacts on a wide range of taxonomic groups including bees, soil microbiota, aquatic invertebrates, fish, non-target plants, terrestrial invertebrates, and vertebrates.  

Our application also collates independent scientific evidence of glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides’ impacts on the human nervous system, human endocrine system, and as a probable human carcinogen. For example, a recent meta-analysis showed that individuals exposed to glyphosate-based herbicides have a 41% increase in risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.  

You can read ELI’s application here. See Appendix 2 of the application for a compilation of the scientific evidence. 

No. We are simply asking the EPA to determine whether legal grounds exist for a reassessment of glyphosate and glyphosate-based substances in Aotearoa. 

The important thing is that we have a full understanding of the impacts of glyphosate-based substances on our people and our environment so we can make informed decisions about their use. 

After reviewing ELI’s application, in July 2024 the EPA decision-making committee decided there were no grounds for a reassessment. 

They said, 

“What we received from the applicant does not meet the criteria for significant new information and does not justify a reassessment of this substance – particularly when considered alongside the findings of other international regulators,” says Dr Chris Hill, General Manager Hazardous Substances and New Organisms.” 

You can read about the EPA’s decision here. 

We believe that the EPA’s decision (that grounds do not exist for reassessment) is unlawful. In October 2024, we filed for judicial review of the EPA’s decision making which found no grounds for a reassessment of glyphosate . 

A judicial review will involve a judge determining whether EPA made its decision in accordance with the law.  

You can read our judicial review application here. 

The duration of a judicial review can vary depending on the complexity of the case and the workload of the court, but as a rough guideline, it’s likely to take between several months to over a year between filing the claim and the court’s decision.  

If we are successful in court, it may mean the EPA will be required to go back and reassess our application. This time based on the significant new information that ELI provided (rather than relying on industry studies and what the EU has done).  

Many local councils provide information about glyphosate and glyphosate-based substances on their website. You can also write to your local council to find out about whether they use glyphosate, and if they do, where and how often.  
 
Some councils have No Spray Registers that you can add your address to if you would like to opt out of glyphosate-based herbicides being sprayed on the berm outside your property.  
 
You can find a list of councils and council websites here.

You are welcome to get in touch. You can reach us at contact@eli.co.nz 

ELI’s Statement of Claim for judicial review 

ELI’s grounds for reassessment application (application and appendices are at the bottom of this page)

EPA decision 

EPA 2022 Call for Information summary report

IARC monograph on glyphosate

EU 2023 decision on glyphosate