Only one garden retailer pledges to rid shelves of peat this year

Just one out of 20 leading garden retailers has pledged to eliminate peat from its shelves this year, according to a survey carried out by wildlife campaigners.

The Wildlife Trusts said the findings from its research show a lack of ambition by garden centres, DIY stores and supermarkets to set targets to end sales of peat, which comes in products including bagged compost and potted plants.

The trusts are calling for the Government to bring in an immediate ban on sales of peat compost for gardeners, and bring forward an end to its use in commercial horticulture to 2025, to protect important peatland habitat.

Healthy peatlands trap in carbon, helping tackle climate change, store water to curb flooding and provide habitat for plants and animals, but lose these functions if the peat is damaged, such as being dug up and removed for sale.

The Government set voluntary goals to end sales of peat compost for amateur gardens by 2020 and for a phase-out of its use in commercial horticulture by 2030, as part of efforts to curb carbon emissions.

But the target for amateur gardeners was missed, and there has been slow progress on reducing peat use in the professional growing sector.

The survey by the Wildlife Trusts reveals that only two retailers out of the 20 who were polled responded to say they have set an end-date for peat sales - Travis Perkins for this year, and Wickes by 2025.

Others among the 11 out of 20 retailers who replied to the survey have plans to end peat sales in the future, but have no dates specified, and some responded with no clear commitments, the wildlife groups said.

Four retailers stock peatfree plants, and a number of companies have peat-free composts - some of which are price-matched with traditional products.

Hillier garden centres stock peat-free compost and plants, their tree production is already peat-free, and the company is aiming for production of all other plants across its nurseries to be peatfree for 2022, the survey found.

It comes in the wake of an industry report which showed that peat continued to make up 44.6 per cent of compost sold in the retail sector in 2019 and more than two million cubic metres of peat was sold or used in the UK that year.