{"id":12182,"date":"2022-05-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=12182"},"modified":"2022-05-11T11:08:26","modified_gmt":"2022-05-11T09:08:26","slug":"peat-free-compost-is-it-really-better-for-the-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/2022\/05\/04\/peat-free-compost-is-it-really-better-for-the-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Peat-free compost: Is it really better for the environment?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PEAT-FREE COMPOST:<\/span><\/h3>\n\n

IS IT REALLY BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT?<\/h3>\n\n

Compost containing peat is due to be banned for UK gardeners. What\u2019s the debate around ending peat sales, and are there any alternatives?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Peat bogs, like this one in the Scottish Highlands, hold onto water and support rare wildlife<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

For years, environmentalists have been pushing for a ban on the sales of peat in the UK, citing the peat supply chain\u2019s high carbon emissions, as well as the ecological importance of the environment it comes from. This may now soon happen, with the UK government announcing in December plans to ban sales of peat to gardeners by 2024. But some campaigners say this is still not soon enough, while others warn that rapidly scaling up the supply of sustainable alternatives to peat may be a challenge.<\/p>\n\n

WHAT IS PEAT AND WHY IS IT USED FOR GARDENING?<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Peat is a soil made of decaying plant matter and is formed in peatlands, a waterlogged wetland habitat. Peatlands take thousands of years to form, as peat grows at a rate of just one centimetre every 10 years.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhen we take it out of peat bogs and use it, we\u2019re depleting it far, far faster than it can be replenished,\u201d says Ali Morse, a peat and water policy expert at The Wildlife Trusts. \u201cIt\u2019s effectively a nonrenewable resource.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cPeatlands cover around 3 per cent of the planet\u2019s surface but hold twice as much soil carbon as all the world\u2019s forests\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Peatlands provide vital ecosystem services: they decrease flood risk and supply drinking water, as well as supporting rare wildlife. They also store a lot of carbon. Peatlands cover around 3 per cent of the planet\u2019s surface but hold twice as much soil carbon as all the world\u2019s forests. This carbon is released into the atmosphere when peatlands dry out, or when peat is extracted for use in horticulture.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t take good care of peatland habitats across the world, we are really going to struggle to prevent runaway climate change,\u201d says Morse.<\/p>\n\n

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Peatlands take thousands of years to form and cannot quickly replenish once harvested<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Peat\u2019s ability to hold onto water and nutrients have made it prized by gardeners as a growing medium. While its use in horticulture has been declining, nearly a third of all compost sold in the UK in 2021 was still peat, according to the Horticultural Trade Association.<\/p>\n\n

WHY IS PEAT COMPOST BEING BANNED?<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

In December 2021, the government published a consultation proposing a ban on sales of peat to gardeners in England and Wales by 2024. \u201cBy ending the retail sale of peat in horticulture, we will be protecting our vulnerable peatlands and helping to prevent climate change,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n

Peatlands are the UK\u2019s largest stores of carbon, says Prof Alistair Griffiths, director of science at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). The proposed ban will help the government deliver on its net zero strategy, he adds.<\/p>\n\n

The UK government has previously set several targets to stop the use of peat. In 2011, it set a voluntary target for compost retailers to end sales of peat by 2020, which was missed. Another voluntary target to end professional use for growing fruit, vegetables and plants by 2030 is also off track, says Morse.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cPart of the reason that these voluntary targets have been unsuccessful is they just don\u2019t send a message strong enough steer to the industry,\u201d says Morse. \u201cThere is a need to invest in research and development in order to find appropriate replacements for peat. A proper government-sanctioned end to sales is needed to drive that investment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Harvesting of turf and peat in the Irish countryside<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
HOW CAN I BE SURE I\u2019M BUYING PEAT-FREE COMPOST?<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

There are a variety of different peat-free composts that aim to emulate the properties of peat and support healthy plants. Some are made from renewable organic materials such as bark, wood chips, wool or coconut fibre (coir), but they can also be made from organic waste, such as household garden waste collections.<\/p>\n\n

Griffiths notes that many peat-free alternatives were not good quality when they were initially rolled out some years ago, and this belief seems to have stuck with many gardeners. However, research has vastly improved the quality of peat-free alternatives, which can now in some cases provide better results than peat, he says.<\/p>\n\n

But it is not always clear whether or not compost contains peat, says Morse. \u201cThere are composites available which contain peat and they will say things like \u2018natural material\u2019 or \u2018organic\u2019, which of course peat is,\u201d she says. \u201cSo you explicitly need it to say \u2018peat-free\u2019 in order to be confident that that is the case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Griffiths recommends asking your retailer whether you are using the right peat-free compost for the right purpose. \u201cIf you are mulching your beds, look to use barks or other mulches. Or even better, compost at home and use your own compost on your beds,\u201d he says. Simply asking your retailer for peat-free options can help demonstrate consumer demand.<\/p>\n\n

HOW MUCH OF AN IMPACT WILL SWITCHING TO PEAT-FREE COMPOST MAKE?<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Damaged peatlands are responsible for almost 5 per cent of human-made CO2<\/sub> emissions. \u201cSwitching to peat-free and not using peat, alongside peatland restoration, has great potential to significantly reduce emissions,\u201d says Griffiths, adding that restored peatlands also have the potential to draw down and store more carbon. \u201cBy switching to peatfree compost, the UK can set a leading example to the rest of the world,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n

The Wildlife Trusts says that even waiting until 2024 is too long, and is pushing for an immediate ban on peat-based compost. It has calculated that waiting another two years would generate another 1.5 million tonnes of CO2<\/sub> , equivalent to the annual emissions of 214,000 UK residents.<\/p>\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Visit the BBC\u2019s Reality Check<\/em> website at bit.ly\/reality_check_<\/a> <\/span>or follow them on Twitter @BBCRealityCheck<\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

by JOCELYN TIMPERLEY<\/strong><\/strong>
Jocelyn is a freelance climate and science journalist.<\/p>\n\n

IMAGES: GETTY IMAGES X2, ALAMY<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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