A blooming good result for gardeners and biodiverity

A new Act on CO2 campaign launched today will encourage gardeners to use peat-free products; one of the simplest yet most effective ways of making a positive environmental impact and reducing our carbon footprint.

Launching the campaign at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn announced plans to phase out peat for the amateur gardener market by 2020.

Mr Benn said:

“The horticultural industry has made progress in reducing peat use over recent years, but given the urgency of reducing our emissions we need to go much further. I know that the proposed 2020 phase-out target for the amateur market will be challenging, but we know this is what we need to do. Peat soils are extremely valuable carbon stores as well as being home to wildlife and important to archaeology, and we should be doing everything we can to protect them.

“Amateur gardeners are by far the biggest users of peat, using over 2 million cubic metres each year. Our research shows us that gardeners often don’t realise the damage that peat extraction causes or that the compost they’re buying contains peat. That is why we’re launching this campaign today to raise awareness of the damage using peat-based composts can cause and help us as gardeners to choose alternative peat-free compost products.”

To read the rest of this article visit the Department of Energy Food and Rural Affairs website.

Further information can be found at
* Defra’s Act on CO2 Peat-Free campaign
* UK Safeguarding our soils – soil strategy published September 2009
* International Year of Biodiversity