2025 October 31 Lawn Chemicals are Out

In the almost fifteen years I have lived across the street from a city park, I have never seen a worker spray a pesticide, herbicide, or synthetic fertilizer on the property. This makes me happy when I see kids tumbling around playing football on the lush green lawn of white clover and turf grass. When the clover blooms, a sweet smell comes over the neighborhood. It never lasts long as the mowers come by once a week and keep the area neat and low. The park is aesthetically pleasing and appropriately maintained for all the rough and tumble play by the middle school kids nearby.

Funny I can’t find any pictures of the park I look at every day. This is not a great picture, but it’s a placeholder until I get a better one.

Lakewood, like other inner-ring suburbs, has made an effort to curb the chemical use on city property. As the name implies, we are part of the Lake Erie watershed. Lake Erie is what brings life to this area. Whatever goes onto our land eventually becomes the water we drink and bathe in. 

So why has Lakewood, Cleveland Heights, and even Cuyahoga County itself said no to lawn chemicals? Why are we worried about something so common that anyone can buy just about anywhere? Are they really that bad? 

Yes, they are that bad, even if the chemical companies tell you they are safe for kids and pets, they are leaving out some major issues and taking advantage of loopholes. By now, a lot of people are aware of the dangers of Glyphosate the main ingredient in RoundUp, as exposure can cause lasting health issues. The public has also maybe heard about 2-4-D, another toxin that can cause physical harm. But chemical companies are good at changing ingredient lists to go under the public radar. One way to do it is to hide toxins under the “inactive” ingredients, which by law don’t need to be disclosed or studied. There are reasons many regular American weed-killers are banned in Europe. Europe has stronger laws to protect the public against chemical exposure.

I hesitate to completely disregard herbicides as I learn more about the dangers of invasive plant species to ecosystems. So far, I still do see a place for their very carefully considered use in some cases for some plants. When we find a better alternative, I’ll be happy. However, since the American lawn is mostly ecologically useless, outdated, monoculture, I can say that I’m emphatically against the use of pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers on them. Public lands, where people picnic, walk their dogs, and play should be free of anything that could harm them. Watersheds need to be healthy thriving filters for our drinking and bathing water. It’s simple and it takes less maintenance.