When you’ re shopping, keep an eye out for peat
WITH many consumers already avoiding peatbased composts due to awareness of the environmental dangers of using peat, to both wildlife and the climate, the Wildlife Trusts have launched a new campaign to raise awareness of hidden peat in a range of retail products.
Sadly, some people, me included, may be inadvertently buying peatbased products without realising, because it is often used as a growing medium for things like houseplants and bedding plants, leafy salads, and mushrooms.
Our Hidden Peat campaign aims to help to increase the level of understanding amongst consumers about peat-based products and the pressures faced by UK peatlands, such as those in Somerset, which are being dug up for use in horticulture.
In 2022, we welcomed the Government’s announcement that the sale of bagged peat compost would be banned in England by 2024.
Worryingly, progress towards this pledge has stalled, with no legislation in place to achieve this ban, and with an election now due before January next year, it looks increasingly unlikely that the Government will be able to deliver the ban before this Parliament ends.
Due to decades of campaigning by charities such as the Wildlife Trusts, many consumers are aware that buying and using peat-free composts in the garden helps protect precious habitats and large numbers have switched to the ever expanding and improving range of alternative growing mediums.
Retailers such as B&Q and the Co-op have already phased out sales of bagged peat compost in anticipation of the ban.
In addition to the ban on bagged peat compost, the Government committed to end all uses of peat in England by 2030 – but similarly, this cannot be delivered without new legislation.
With the legislative process ground to a halt, we are urging people to look out for “hidden peat” when doing their shopping – and we think this is a vital way people can help keep peat in bogs not bags.
Whilst consumers can do their bit, it is vital that they can make informed decisions about the food and plants they buy until the ban on peat-based products is delivered.
Protecting peatlands is crucial to our fight against climate change as they store massive amounts of carbon, and these amazing habitats are home to some incredible plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth.
So, in addition to restating our demand that the promised ban on bagged peat composts is brought in as soon as possible, we are also asking consumers to back our call for clear labelling, so that shoppers can easily identify products which contain or were grown in peat – and increased transparency from retailers about their commitment to, and timeframes for taking peat out of supply chains.
Extracting peat is bad for our climate and for wildlife but 80% of the UK’S peatlands are now degraded due to damaging practices, including peat extraction for horticulture, drainage for agriculture and burning. When peatlands are damaged, carbon is released.
Today, emissions from peatlands make up 4% of all UK annual greenhouse gas emissions.
The Wildlife Trusts have been advocates for better protection of peatlands against horticultural extraction for over three decades and across England we have restored over 50,000 hectares of peatlands.
Here in Nottinghamshire, we are currently working with farmers and landowners in the Idle Valley to restore damaged peatlands as part of a wider project with a neighbouring Wildlife Trust across the Humberhead Levels.
Whilst peatland restoration is vital, it does seem unacceptable to be focusing on and investing in restoration whilst remaining peatland habitats are still being degraded and destroyed through commercial extraction.
For more details about The Wildlife Trusts’ Hidden Peat campaign visit wildlifetrusts.org/ban-sale-peat