Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Gardeners face total ban from using peat
THE sale of peat for use on private gardens and allotments will be banned in England from 2024, the Government has announced, in a bid to protect the UK’s already severely degraded moorlands.
Environmental campaigners have long called for stricter laws to restore peatlands, which are the UK’s largest carbon sink.
As well as carbon capture and storage, peatlands provide habitat to some of the UK’s most threatened wildlife, and also filter water and prevent flooding downstream.
But a combination of draining them for agricultural use, burning to create the right habitat for game birds and harvesting for compost, means only 13 per cent are in a near-perfect state.
Overgrazing by livestock and wild deer have also contributed to the problem.
The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) said today the sale of peat-based compost would be banned in garden centres and supermarkets within 18 months.
In 2011, the Government agreed that the horticultural industry should voluntarily bring about an end to the use of peat, but by 2021 it still accounted for 29.8% of commercially sold compost.
A public consultation, which received 5,000 responses, found 95% of people supported the ban and Defra admitted the voluntary approach had not succeeded.
Bagged peat sold by retailers accounts for 70% of the peat sold in the UK, according to Defra.
It said that at this stage, the ban did not apply to those working in the horticultural trade, and that a date for this would be decided following a discussion with industry bodies in September.
A spokeswoman for the department acknowledged that landowners would still have the right to extract peat, but said the ban would in time bring about a reduction in demand.
She added the Government was looking to help mineral planning authorities, usually a department within a county council, unitary authority or national park, to modernise existing licences in order to bring an end to peat extraction.
The Government has a target of restoring 35,000 hectares of peatlands by 2025 as part of its commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
In addition to the newly announced ban, a further £11 million has been awarded to six projects working to restore 7,000 hectare of peatland.
The money comes from the second round of grant making by the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme, which is administered by non-departmental public body Natural England.
Money to restore 8,000 hectares of peatland was awarded in the first round of funding.
Chair of Natural England Tony Juniper said: “This ban on the sale of peatbased compost and work to phase out use in other areas is an essential step toward protecting these valuable natural assets and allowing for the recovery of degraded areas.”
Elsewhere, the RSPB welcomed the announcement but was concerned it did not go far enough.
The ban imposed by the UK Government only applies in England as the sale of peat is a devolved matter. Wales is expected to enact a similar ban.