Products containing biocides, such as wood preservatives, are a family of products intended to destroy or control harmful or unwanted organisms (such as fungi and insects) that have detrimental effects on the environment, on animals, on humans, their activities or the products they use or produce. Biocidal products are used in a wide variety of ways by both industrial and professional users as well as by the public.
Sustainable use can be defined for biocidal products as the objective of reducing the risks and impacts of the use of biocidal products on human health, animal health and the environment. Risk mitigation may involve the consideration of alternative approaches or techniques such as non-chemical alternatives to biocidal products. In such cases an assessment must be made of the cost and effectiveness of alternatives as well as any negative impact on society from their use as substitutes for biocidal products.
It should however be noted that biocidal products are also important tools to protect human health, animal health and the environment and that non-chemical alternatives may not always be effective, practical or even available. Therefore, sustainable use strategies also ensure that sufficient biocidal products remain available to achieve these objectives.