They are furious at the municipality of Bergeijk. Ten trees on an industrial estate were poisoned and died. Someone drilled holes in the trunk and injected poison into it. The trees now have to be cut down and planting the same trees in return will cost the municipality 200,000 euros. “This is unacceptable,” a municipal spokesperson responded.
According to the municipality, the trees must have been poisoned sometime between the end of December 2023 and April this year. “In the spring, the leaves suddenly stopped forming on the trees,” says the spokesperson. “Then boreholes were found in the rootstock. An investigation was conducted and it turned out that a toxin had been injected into the boreholes.”
This concerns the pesticide glyphosate, which is harmful to trees. “We are deeply disappointed and outraged that ten healthy and more than thirty-year-old trees have been destroyed. Unacceptable.”
Smaller trees
If the municipality were to plant new trees of the same type and size, it would cost about 20,000 euros per tree. This also includes the costs for removing the trees and the first five years of aftercare, such as soil improvement. Because that will be too extensive, smaller trees will probably be replaced. “We estimate that it will cost approximately 50,000 euros in total.”
The municipality of Bergeijk has reported the vandalism to the police. At the moment the dead trees are still there. These will be cut down in early 2025 and then the new trees will also be planted.