Why the governments peat free policy is insufficient.
On the 27th August 2022 the government announced that the sale of peat for use in the amateur gardening sector will be banned by 2024 to protect peatlands and the natural environment. For those that are familiar with Harriet’s Plants you might think I would be overjoyed to see such legislation, but I’m not, because it simply will not create the level of change that we ,as a planet, need.
If you are new here, my name is Harriet Thompson and I founded Harriet’s Plants back in 2018. Harriet’s Plants is the only commercial peat free, chemical free and 100% UK grown, planet friendly grower of houseplants. Whilst studying plant science at the world-famous Eden Project in Cornwall I became fully aware of the wonderful properties of Peatlands.
In the UK, at least 80% of peatland habitats have been lost or damaged. Healthy peat bogs act as 'carbon sinks' storing huge amounts of carbon. However, damaged bogs dry out and release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, accelerating climate change. That was it, I had found my life’s mission. I knew I wanted to be a grower but since then, being a peat free grower became central to my business and my life.
In 2020 I started the peat free people movement on my Instagram @harriets.plants to highlight the issue and I have taken every opportunity I can to spread the word of peat free which is why I am disappointed that when the issue of peat is finally being discussed in parliament the proposed legislation is extremely inadequate, so let’s get into it.
Firstly, I’d like to say isn’t it great that we are, at last, making progress and moving forward into a peat free UK. Its great that compost in 2024 will all have to be peat free but this ban comes with a lot of confusion too.
The announcement followed an ‘extensive’ public consultation between 18 December 2021 through to 18 March 2022. This consultation received more than 5,000 responses with over 95% in favour of government taking action to ban retail peat sales. You can read the results here. They asked for views on the following;
Measures to end the use of peat and peat containing products in retail horticulture
Views on each of the proposed measures and how they could operate
Any evidence on the impacts of ending the use of peat and peat containing products in the professional horticulture and wider sectors.
Despite it being a public forum, all the respondents were actively engaged within the horticultural community- while this may mean that they were more informed about the nature of peat, it also had an impact on their trade/lifestyle so could be seen as biased. If the forum was put to the general public the statistics would be significantly different, I’m sure. As it stands the 4982 responders to the survey (88%) identified as Amateur gardener (I.e. a user of horticulture products who does not sell any products) which directly corresponds to the new law focussing on the sale of peat for use in the amateur gardening sector, which is simply insufficient for real change.
To put it into perspective every plant that is imported into the UK is more than likely grown in peat. In 2021, UK households purchased approximately 7.6 billion British pounds worth of plants and flowers and other garden goods, considerably more than just two years before. That is A LOT of peat being harvested to fuel that market growth.
How beneficial would it be for you as a consumer, if a legal requirement of growing pot plants meant that the grower had to state whether the plant was peat free or not? Would this help challenge the industry, so we, as buyers, could make a more informed decision?
When asked, ‘Do you think there should be a retail sales ban for peat AND peat containing products in England and Wales?’ 96% of respondents answered YES. So why then the soft approach? Why only ban it in amateur gardening? It is progress yes, but it is a tiny step when it could have been a giant world-leading leap forward in the fight against climate change.
I understand that the change over to peat free growing could be challenging and I would never expect that to happen overnight, but its interesting that professional horticulture see’s minimal change. The Government has pledged to continue to work closely with the professional horticulture sector on speeding up their transition to peat-free alternatives ahead of a ban for the professional horticulture sector, recognising that the professional horticulture sector faces additional technical barriers that will take longer to overcome. The barriers to the professional horticultural sector is firmly in the pockets of the investors and unfortunately the change we need may come a little too late.
The RHS stopped selling peat-based growing media bags in 2019 because they didn’t need the government to tell them what was right. The facts speak for themselves. Peatlands are precious ecosystems that harbour beautiful and fascinating wildlife, shape the character of iconic landscapes, purify water and help to reduce flood and fire risk. They are also our largest natural carbon stores, locking away over 580 million tonnes, which will be released if harvested! Environment Minister Richard Benyon remarked that this Government understands the importance of keeping peat healthy and in the ground, here and around the world – to lock up carbon, strengthen drought resilience and serve as a powerful nature-based solution to climate change. They know It is vitally important yet are only willing to impact a tiny section of the problem.
From the bottom of my heart, if you have continued to read to the end. Thank you! Please spread the word. Change unfortunately isn’t going to come from the top so it has to come from us as buyers.
Please spread the peat free word. I know I am a peat free grower and this could be a perverse way to get more sales, it’s not. I am a peat free grower because I believe the UK market needs to have peat free sustainable house plants available. Someone has to stand against the big boys that are quite literally setting the world on fire. Will you stand with me?
Join the peat free movement.
Let’s be the change.
