[Greengage]

We recently had a discussion at a local gardening meeting as to whether Barley straw and its use was still permitted for cleaning up Algae in ponds, I had heard somewhere that it was banned has anyone any up to date info on this subject,.
http://www.amateurgardening.com/home/brussels-set-to-ban-barley-straw/

[Good guy]

I just did a quick check of the RHS site and they don't mention any ban, or if they do, I didn't find it.
Anyway, who is to know whether or not someone is using it in their pond, unless they talk about it here? Then, of course, the NSA, CIA, GCHQ, FSB, etc may well come to visit, or send a drone to investigate/blast you and your barley straw out of existence!
Also, remember, the British press loves to publish exaggerated scare stories about the EU (straight bananas, etc).

[tippben]

Barley straw DOES sort out algal blooms. There may be some sort of law that says "you didn't pay xyz so you can't sell it". That's different. I think if biologists had found that adding barley straw to ponds had significant adverse affects to the creatures living in the pond apart from algae, we'd have heard about it. I wil continue to use barley straw unless I hear something to that effect. When they harvest the barley, there is always plenty of stuff left where the tractor doesn't fit.

[medieval knievel]

if you google this, the oly results you get are ones referring back to the article posted above - there doesn't seem to be much mention anywhere else.

[Good guy]

MK, I think Tippben has hit the nail on the head, there. It's the impossibility of patenting/profiteering from the stuff that is likely to cause 'banning' problems. The manufacturers of agrichemicals won't want any interference with their bottom line. I wouldn't be surprised to hear the same kind of claptrap being spouted about comfrey or nettle tea fertiliser, or home made garlic fungicides. There will be some "justification" on the grounds of product reliability, or public safety or damage to the environment or some such burocratic gobbledygook.
I did a wide search of the subject a few months ago and I'm sure I remember reading of some authorative research that showed the mechanism by which the straw inhibits the growth of the alga. It also showed that there were no deleterious effects on the other aquatic life. But can I find it now?? I didn't bookmark it, I'm afraid.