Peat in compost – squeeze it out now

Peat Facts:

• Snowdonia has 30% of all Wales peatlands.
• Wales is delivering large-scale peatland restoration with ambitious projects like the National Peatland Action Programme
• Local businesses like Seiont Nurseries are leading the way to peat-free commercial growing
• We can all do our bit – buy peat-free and tell your supplier it’s time to stop selling peat-based compost
• Some big retailers of peat are implementing their own bans, including Dobbies and the Co-op in 2021, and B&Q by 2023.

The significant potential of peatlands for carbon storage and biodiversity means that having healthy, wet peat in the ground is an essential tool in tackling the climate and nature crises. The Climate Change Committee has said that, to meet our Net Zero ambitions, we must end the extraction and sale of peat for all horticultural uses across the UK, including in the professional sectors and across imports, by 2023.

We are therefore pleased that the UK and Welsh Governments have recognised the importance of keeping our peat in the ground and are taking steps to ban the sale of peat in the retail sector. However, they must move faster and with much greater ambition to make the comprehensive changes necessary to meet the CCC’s target, introducing the proposed ban as quickly as possible and immediately scoping out a rapid path to a complete ban, encompassing trade, exports, imports and the professional sector. The continued extraction and sale of peat is indefensible in light of these Governments’ nature and climate goals.

Have your say here:

https://consult.defra.gov.uk/soils-and-peatlands/endingtheretailsaleofpeatinhorticulture/