Why does pesticide pollution in water persist?

Why is hazardous pesticide pollution of water bodies in the EU not effectively limited by state regulation? Using the conceptual framework of unsustainable lock-ins by Karen Seto et al., we show that there are various “pesticide lock-ins” in Europe. We draw on semi-standardized interviews with decision-makers in the field of pesticide politics to formulate six lock-ins that describe how state actors fail to tackle this global environmental challenge. We outline infrastructural, institutional and behavioural lock-ins that are self-stabilizing and can be moved only through tremendous resources, time, or extraordinary windows of opportunity.