Peat extraction is devastating for biodiversity and the climate
If you have ever owned a house plant or planted something in a garden, it was almost certainly grown in a peat-based product. Despite understanding for decades the damage that peat extraction is doing to both biodiversity and the climate, industry-led voluntary efforts have failed to precipitate the transition to peat-free potting mediums. For every tonne of peat extracted, the carbon dioxide emissions are double that released from a tonne of forestry timber. The C02 released from degraded peatlands accounts for 4% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions annually.
We welcome the ban but call to bring it forward
The government are finally introducing a legal ban, but have given the industry a further two years to make the transition. PTES feels that the delays have gone on for long enough and want to see the ban imposed immediately. The quality of peat-free alternatives has improved significantly over the last couple of decades and is now as good as the old peat-based products and are made with readily available waste products such as coir, local authority compost, and sheep’s wool.
Peat sales must end immediately
The government is asking the public and stakeholders to respond to a consultation about how the ban should work. Their options include various loopholes that will allow industry to continue to sell peat products, but these will simply result in more of the same. Therefore, we are backing a campaign by the Wildlife Trusts that asks the public to respond to the consultation with an unequivocal message: that peat sales must end unconditionally and immediately.
See the form below to help you respond to the consultation: