Poisonous and invasive garden plants - Do consumers know what they are buying?
04 Sep 2007
Australian gardens are home to an alarming number of plants that are poisonous to children and pets, according to a new report by WWF-Australia titled Poisonous Plants in Australia.
The report, which launches on the WWF website this week and cautions gardeners to buy safe backyard plants, reveals that over 100 species of poisonous plants are currently sold in Australian plant nurseries, with nearly half considered 'weedy' or invasive.
Invasive plants have the ability to migrate from gardens into surrounding areas, posing a huge threat to the natural environment as well as human and animal health.
A scoping report and medical data analysis commissioned by The Nursery and Garden Industry Association (NGIA) as far back as 2000 (An analysis of hazardous plants in the Australian nursery industry) found that an average of 243 people per year were admitted to Australian hospitals due to plant poisonings, with a high percentage of victims being children under the age of four.
The report noted that, while fatalities are rare, Victoria alone had 3 reported cases of accidental deaths due to plant ingestion, including a three-year-old child.
The NGIA's 2000 scoping report identified a potential legal liability for the industry if customers are "injured" by hazardous plants and recommended the development of an Australian code of practice for plant retailers, with the inclusion of guidelines for the labelling of hazardous plants.
A set of voluntary guidelines for plant labelling were released by the NGIA in August this year, however the guidelines do not follow the NGIA scoping report's own recommendations to include a code of practice. Currently there is no indication of how the guidelines are going to be implemented.
"This is a great initiative by the Nursery Industry, but without a code of practice, the guidelines are not likely to be implemented," said Nicola Thomson, WWF's Invasive Species Policy Officer.
"It's time that the nursery industry caught up with accepted product disclosure standards found in other industries, including standards for food labelling, household cleaning products and medication.
"Consumers have a right to know what they are buying so that they can make informed and responsible decisions when it comes to buying garden plants."
WWF's report highlights that people are largely unaware of the danger that poisonous and invasive plants pose. A 2007 Australia-wide Galaxy poll that surveyed 1,100 Australians demonstrated very low consumer awareness of the garden plant threat and very high consumer demand for warnings on labels. More than 95 per cent of Australians surveyed believe that poisonous and invasive plants should be labelled with a warning.
The WWF report can be downloaded from: http://wwf.org.au/ourwork/invasives/publications
Find out more
Nicola Thomsons, WWF-Australia
Mobile: 0406 384 288
Elise Hawthorne, WWF-Australia
Phone: 02 9559 3283
Mobile: 0413 363 232
Notes
- The WWF report recommends a way forward for the implementation of the NGIA's labelling guidelines that calls for the establishment of a National Taskforce including representation of government, industry and interest groups to develop an National Plant Labelling Code that mirrors other retail industry codes of practice.
- Plants that were listed in the report as having caused deaths in Australia include Arum Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica), Lantana (Lantana camara), Oleander (Nerium oleander), White Cedar (Melia azedarach) and Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima).
- Many of the same poisonous plants identified in the WWF report also appear on a list of garden plants that Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) are calling "Weeds of the Future". The list appears in a report commissioned by MLA that was released last year called: Weeds of the Future? Threats to Australia's Grazing Industries by Garden Plants. The report identifies garden plant species that are considered to pose a significant risk to Australia's grazing industries should they escape from Australia's gardens. Around 90 of the garden plants on the MLA list are poisonous to livestock (Barker et al. 2006).
- Concerned members of the public that want 'truth in labelling' of garden plants can send a letter to the Federal Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation using a sample letter.
- Consumers are urged to use existing lists of poisonous and invasive plants as a guide when they shop for plants. A list of poisonous plants are provided in the NGIA Labelling Guidelines.
- A list of invasive plants can be downloaded from the WWF site.
