Toxic gardens

the lawn waste recycling industry in the us is alarmed after traces of Clopyralid, a herbicide harmful to garden vegetables, was found in compost made from recycled grass, straw and manure in California, Washington and Pennsylvania as well as New Zealand. The industry is demanding the elimination of the herbicide lest it went bankrupt. It is alleged that the producers of Clopyralid, Dow AgroSciences, did not study the herbicide's effects in compost in 1987. After seven years, warnings were put on the labels of Clopyralid products saying consumers should not compost materials treated with the herbicide. Garry Hamlin of Dow says the label warnings were ignored and so the problems arose. Material treated with the herbicide should have been disposed of another way but was recycled.