Policy

Destruction of peat bogs

How peat is used

Damaged SSSI site at Abernethy Forest, Scotland
A Site of Special Scientific Interest, felled and ploughed at Abernethy in the Scottish highlands

Peat use in the UK has stabilised after a rapid growth in the early 1990s. Whilst soil improvers are now almost entirely peat free, growing media, such as multi-purpose composts, are still overwhelmingly peat based.

Even so, the proportion of non-peat materials has grown from 4% to 10% between 1999-2001, the last year for which Government statistics on peat use are available. Manufacturers may at last be starting to react to the demands for peat-free, environmentally friendly products.

Many effective sustainable alternatives are available. Some have other environmental benefits too, such as reducing the amount of waste going to landfill sites. Lack of availability, price, consistency and quality are common reasons for not choosing alternatives.

The latter two stem largely from poor quality alternatives marketed in the early 1990s and are largely historical problems. The former two problems are also becoming increasingly historical, as the market changes to the demand for more environmentally sustainable products.

Many gardeners want a good growing medium rather than choosing peat specifically; others use peat because of its familiarity. Many consumers buy multi-purpose composts unaware that most of these are peat-based products. As the focus of investment and with 40 years' research and product development, peat has established a dominant position in the marketplace.

The RSPB has a partnership with the Terra EcoSystems range of peat-free products. These are made from recycled materials as part of Thames Water's commitment to more sustainable business.

Yet all this seems set to change. The ongoing concerns of the RSPB and our Peatland Campaign Consortium (PCC) colleagues have secured commitments from the three leading gardening DIY retailers - B&Q, Focus DIY and Homebase - to go peat-free. The Government has introduced a target for 90% of growing media and soil improvers to peat-free by 2010.

The UK's biggest peat supplier, The Scotts Company, has not only agreed to the ending of peat extraction on three of the UK's most important peat bogs, but has also announced its intention to meet Government targets for peat replacement, and to move from peat-based potting materials to products made with green compost.

The RSPB has a partnership with the Terra EcoSystems range of peat-free products. These are made from recycled materials as part of Thames Water's commitment to more sustainable business.

While the wholesale change-over to peat alternatives cannot take place overnight, environmentally aware gardeners today have little excuse for continuing to use peat. Everyone with an interest in wildlife and a concern for conservation should choose peat alternatives for their gardens.