Local residents of the plots on Middenweg in Vledder where lilies are grown want a stop to the use of pathogenic crop protection products. Six local residents went to court on Tuesday. He will decide on this within two weeks.
Perhaps the statement is mustard after the meal. The cultivation period of this crop is coming to an end. Thirty percent has already been divested, said Dirk Mestemaker of Middenweg Vledder VOF. He does not grow the lilies for himself, he does so on behalf of a company in Andijk.
The crop closest to the homes is no longer cultivated. He only has to use crop protection products once, or maybe twice if the weather is good. And that will be with Oil-H, which contains paraffin oil. According to Mestemaker, this oil is used to combat lice. “Olie-H is allowed,” he says.
Oil-H has been placed on the national list of substances of very high concern by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Marijn Kingma, lawyer for the local residents, countered. Local residents have tried to make agreements with the company to limit possible exposure to these substances as much as possible. Commitments were made by the entrepreneur, which were not kept, Kingma said.
As of May 19, Mestemaker has refused to conduct any form of communication. He left the joint WhatsApp group twice. But that’s no wonder, the entrepreneur said. He did this because of the tone, people shouted at him. He was afraid that a smear campaign had started against him.
“Mestemaker has done more than was requested by local residents, he has not acted unlawfully,” said his lawyer Niclas Koelemaij. The accusations were incorrect, Mestemaker invited everyone in the app to come and take a look: “Walk with me, fill the barrels with me.” He warned residents in a timely manner when spraying took place. And he often sprayed at night, so that no one would be bothered by it.
The judge sensed an agreement between both parties. He sent them into the hallway to talk about a compromise. An agreement on how often spraying can be done this year, possibly with a penalty as a stick behind the door.
The local residents saw no point in this. The trust was gone. The end of the growing season is in sight, but they still asked the judge to make the decision. “We are happy with the attention it has received,” says local resident Tanja Diepering. “We don’t even do it so much for our own small circle. Tomorrow it could happen in your backyard. It concerns the whole of Drenthe and the whole of the Netherlands.”
The judge will make a ruling in two weeks.