The greenery grows quickly in Hawaii. A lapse of even a few weeks in grass-mowing and weed-whacking can leave landscaped stretches noticeably scruffy. It’s not surprising then that effective herbicide products containing glyphosate — first developed and brought to market by Monsanto in the 1970s — are readily available in the islands.

According to the state Agriculture Department, there are about 200 products licensed for sale here with glyphosate as an active ingredient. Unlike Restricted Use Pesticides (RUPs), sales of which are reported to the department monthly, glyphosate is a general use product.

After decades of easy access and frequent use in Hawaii and elsewhere, glyphosate is the world’s most widely used weed killer. However, in recent years, health-related concerns tied to it have prompted various other countries and some U.S. municipalities to take steps to either restrict or ban its use.

Hawaii’s Department of Education has a ban in place on use of any sort of herbicide while it explores the possible use of organic products as an alternative. The policy rightly aims to minimize chemical exposure to our keiki at the schools.

While DOE’s pest management program has been providing training for custodial staff consistent with this policy for five years, it’s now apparent that more needs to be done to spread the word.

At a community meeting last week at Leilehua High — called by Board of Education Chairwoman Catherine Payne to hear concerns about herbicide and pesticide use at schools — several parents told officials that custodians at some schools are still using Monsanto’s Roundup, which contains glyphosate.

Further, an agriculture teacher at Leilehua who attended the meeting said she has regularly sprayed it around the perimeter of the campus to wither weeds. That sort of casual application is undoubtedly well-intended, but a bit concerning. How many other teachers and staff are zapping ever-encroaching foliage?

According to farm-to-school efforts, 85% of K-12 public non-charter schools in Hawaii have active school garden programs, which typically grow edible plants that students consume as classroom tastings. At the very least, implementing restrictions on use of glyphosate on and around school properties appears to be a prudent action to protect the health of students and staff.

The World Health Organization has described glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic.” But in late April, the Environmental Protection Agency issued an interim review that said it “continues to find that there are no risks to public health when glyphosate is used in accordance with its current label and that glyphosate is not a carcinogen.”

Amid such conflicting reports, many lawsuits are in the works in state and federal courts. In May, a jury in Oakland, Calif., ordered Monsanto to pay a couple more than $2 billion in damages after finding that Roundup caused their cancer (non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma). It was the third jury to find that the company failed to sufficiently warn consumers of the product’s dangers.

In response to the community meeting at Leilehua, DOE Superintendent Christina Kishimoto issued a memo reminding school principals, agricultural teachers and custodians that the herbicide ban is in place on its 290 campuses. She also called for the immediate removal of any herbicides stored at schools. Those are steps in the right direction.

Given the daunting task of keeping school grounds looking good in the absence of any such weed-killer use, the Education Department should accelerate at least a pilot program switch to organic herbicides, such as those made with citrus oil. In the meantime, consider adding to the calendar more school beautification days, including families and community-service volunteers.