PEAT PRODUCTS TO BE AXED
Peat composts to be banned by 2024 while discussions with trade continue,
Peat-based gardening products are to be finally banned by government after 60 years of constant use.
Existing stocks of potting composts and other products using peat must now be sold or removed from sale by 2024, although the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is yet to fix a precise date for the measure.
More details are set to be hammered out after the conclusion of discussions between DEFRA and trade representatives this month. Discussions will include the use of peat to grow plants imported from Europe, where peat use is still permitted. Scotland and Northern Ireland are currently not directly following the policies being implemented in England and Wales. The sea-change measure has been ushered in as part of the government’s Net Zero strategy, embodied in its 25-year Environment Plan. UK peatlands act as a carbon store, help purify and hold huge volumes of water to prevent flooding and act as a refuge for wildlife. Peat extraction currently involves around 1,000 hectares of UK peatlands.
While take-up of peat-free composts has grown as more products become available through retailers such as B&Q, Homebase, Dobbies and the RHS, other outlets are yet to supply it. The Government also undertook a public consultation on the issue, receiving more than 5,000 responses, with more than 95 per cent favouring the ban.
The much-anticipated timing for the introduction of the ban triggered strong reactions from the horticultural trade. The Horticultural Trades Association is concerned there’s not enough time for compost manufacturers to secure readily available and consistent supplies of raw materials for new products. Materials include shredded bark chip, pulverised bark fibre, green waste and coir, predominantly imported from Sri Lanka.
Although the industry removed 30 per cent (600,000 cubic metres) of peat from compost products, James Barnes of the Growing Media Taskforce is worried there’s not enough alternative material in the country to meet the need, and that gardeners could be faced with more expensive products that have not gone through a lengthy enough quality assurance process. “We repeat our ask to government that it puts its energies into addressing the barriers to alternatives, rather than unnecessarily legislating,” he said.